Maple Saga: Returned
by ThanhnuFia
Summary: A prophecy once told that our worst enemy will be back, but the prophecy also mentioned that he isn't the only one... The hero from the past will break out from his prison, while the new hero will rise. Together, they will discover their fate... COMPLETED
1. The strange egg

**Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters in this fanfic but this fanfic. The rest belongs to Nexon/Wizet.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The strange egg<strong>

" Huh? Where am I?" Evan was surprised when she saw herself standing in a strange foggy forest, surrounded by stones which had a strange symbol engraved on it, glowing under a thin green moss and creating a strange green light in the fog. The brunette carefully leaned against the stone and walked through the thick fog. After a few steps, she heard a low voice echo around her...

_The Pact..._

" Who…who's there?" Startled, Evan picked up a random tree branch underneath her feet and raised it up. The same voice echoed again, this time louder and clearer...

_You who are seeking the pact..._

'I think it came from here...' She carefully took a few more steps forward and the fog disappeared slowly. She was standing in a sunny field with lots of flowers and butterflies. 'I didn't know place like this existed...' A cool wind blew through her hair and Evan turned around to face a huge creature. "Wow, a dragon!" she gasped in surprise. The giant dragon laid perfectly still in front of her, it's scales glowing in the sunlight like a beautiful black crystal. It's wings slightly moved, like it was inviting Evan to come closer and she did. The strange dragon has a rather slim body , but it's legs were muscular and it had silver toenails. On top of its head were four golden horns that glowed like a rainbow with the same strange symbol on its forehead, the same symbol craved on the stone she saw earlier. Evan noticed that the dragon was looking at her, its topaz colored eyes following her every movement. Do animals have that kind of deep gaze?' She questioned herself, her emerald orbs making contact with its topaz one.

"Come here." That same voice echoed again but this time it wasn't around her as she heard it inside her head. Evan gulped as she took small steps towards it and carefully raised her hand to touch it's forehead. The moment her fingers made contact with its scales, the back of her hand glowed brightly and everything disappeared in a bright light that came from her hand.

_You, who are destined to be a Dragon Master...You have finally arrived_

"What?" Evan shouted, seeing the dragon slowly vanish in the light.

_Go and fulfill your duties as the Dragon Master..._

"Wait, what Dragon Master? I don't understand!" Evan squeezed her eyes shut as the bright light covered everything around her. The voice echoed one last time, before everything around her became pitch black...

_Carry out the terms of agreement..._

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><p>Evan woke up and breathed heavily, her forehead covered with sweat. The sun light from outside streamed through her window and lit her bedroom. 'What a strange dream ...' Evan thought as she got up and made her way to the bathroom. The image of that foggy forest and the strange dragon kept flashing back in her mind, making it impossible for her to focus on the task at hand, which was to put on her clothes as fast as she could. Grabbing an orange shirt and her blue mini skirt to wear, she changed into them after stripping off her pajamas before noticing the strange symbol on the back of her hand.<p>

"What's this? Eh, it's probably unimportant anyway." She yawned, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Evan honey, are you up yet?" someone called to her from downstairs.

"Yeah Mom, I'm coming," she said and carelessly combed through her short brown hair before walking downstairs. As she walked into the kitchen, the brunette's stomach growled loudly in hunger, enticed by the smell of bacon and eggs.

Her mother—Anna—passed her a plate full of delicious looking breakfast and asked, "Evan, did you sleep well?"

"Yes, and you Mom?" She yawned again.

"I did. But you seem tired, honey, look at those dark circles under your eyes. Is it because of the storm?" Anna dried her hands with the apron, reaching out and rubbing under her eyes.

"It's not that, Mom. I just had a strange dream last night; I dreamed I met a dragon!" Evan shook her head, trying to focus on the breakfast in front of her. Anna chuckled, lightly petting her head.

"I'm glad it didn't swallow you whole, honey." The brunette laughed nervously and drank her orange juice while her mom went back to the counter and noticed a lunchbox wrapped in pink cloth. "Honey could you bring this lunchbox to your dad? He always seems to forget something everyday."

"Sure mom," she answered with a mouthful of bacon. Anna grabbed a straw hat and put it on Evan's head and gave her the lunchbox. The young girl kissed Anna good bye on the cheek and opened the front door, about to leave the house until something with golden fur and white ears suddenly knocked her down and barked loudly.

"Bull! Get off! Bad dog!" Anna shouted and pushed the dog off Evan before it could lick her face. She giggled and got up, but her giggles died as she saw Utah – her 'big brother'—standing at the front door. He was holding a bowl with something like pig food inside and tried to feed Bull with it, but the dog kept avoiding it and hid behind her. She sighed.

"Idiot, that stuff isn't edible for dogs. What are you thinking?"

"Hey, watch your tongue! How dare you speak to your big brother that way?" Utah leaned over and knocked on the top of her head. Evan felt her eyes twitch violently when she curled her hand together into fist and punched him in the stomach, hard enough to make him suffer for a good ten minutes. Bull waved his tail happily as its owner snatched the bowl from her brother's hand and dumped the pig food into the trash can, grabbing some dog food in the cupboard.

"C'mon Bull, let's leave Utah and his wounded ego where he belongs."

"I'll...get my revenge...on you..." He groaned and tried to get up, but Evan only laughed.

"In your dreams, big brother."

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><p>After feeding and chaining Bull at the gate, Evan started walking to the family farm up on the hill. She had completely forgotten about the strange forest and the dragon in her dream as she entered the farm. "Dad!"<p>

"Over here honey!" Gustav called out, holding a hammer and a few nails in his hands, bending over next to the barn. As she paced to where her father was, Evan noticed a rather large hole in the barn's wall, 'Who could've done this?' she thought and grabbed a few logs on the way to help her father.

"What wrong with the barn dad?"

"Some wild animal broke in. Look around," he said and pointed at the field. The grass was dug out, and the chicken coop was completely knocked down, there were still some chicken feathers around. Evan winced at the sight of a dead fox lying there and put the lunch box next to Gustav and walked inside the barn. She was surprised to see the cows were standing in the corner, shaking in fear. None dared to move when she picked up some straw for them.

"What wrong with you cows? What made you so scared?" Evan walked up to them and held the straw at their mouth, but none decided to eat it. "What's wrong, Daisy?" She petted the largest female among of them when it started to moo loudly, backing away from her. Suddenly the door was knocked down, dust and straw flying as a huge creature came running inside. Evan could hear her father screaming her name, telling her to get out of the barn, but instead of listening to him, her eyes focused on the animal that had knocked the door down. Evan realized it was the wild pig that used to wander outside the farm. It snorted loudly, staring at her with an angry gaze before charging at her. The brunette quickly grabbed a shovel and slammed it on the head, but the wild pig didn't seem to back down. Instead it got angrier and rammed its head into her stomach, knocking Evan down, her head hitting the corner of the wooden barrier...

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><p>"Ouch...my head..." Evan moaned as she opened her eyes. The smell of weeds and dirt filled her lungs, making Evan cough as she got up. She realized that she was lying in the foggy forest she had dreamt about: Everything was the same, but it wasn't foggy anymore. The brunette stood up and took the same way she had taken in her dream. 'Does that mean there's a dragon here too?' Evan thought as she walked the way she thought would lead to where the dragon was, but she was wrong. There was no dragon there, only a big nest with a giant leaf on top of it.<p>

Disappointed, the young girl walked to the nest and peeked inside. There was a big egg, probably as big as a goose egg, or even more, with a blue colored shell that glowed in the sunlight. 'Could this be a Dragon egg?' Evan reached out to touch it, and the moment the tip of the fingers made contact with the shell, her right hand began to burn like it was on fire. She hissed at the pain as the strange symbol reappeared on her hand, glowing brightly along with the eggshell.

A strange, childish voice echoed in her mind, "Yay! Master is here!"

A small crack appeared on top of the egg and began to spread down. Her emerald eyes widened as a small, blue creature slowly broke through the shell to get out. It looked kind of like a puny lizard with blue scales and tiny little wings on its back. The small creature kicked open the shell, finally escaping from its egg. Its topaz eyes blinked and looked at Evan for a second and Evan felt a warm sensation build up inside of her as the creature threw itself at her, squealing out:

"Master!"

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><p>A young man wearing a fur coat walked through the gate of Henesys, carelessly swinging his pole-arm back and forth as he walked through the market place. His silver colored hair was shaped like a Mohawk, reflected with his well tanned skin, and matched the color of his icy blue eyes. "So, this is Henesys..."<p>

**A/n: Re written on Sunday, November 27th, 2011**


	2. Returned

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old  
><strong>

**Chapter 2 : Dragon Master**

" Master ! Master ! " The puny little lizard – Evan assumed flew into her arms and grabbed her shirt with it's tiny legs , snuggled it's head against her neck

" I'm finally here! " It inhaled " Ah , this must be the air I'm breathing . Oh , oh , that's the sun! And a tree! A flower! This is incredible , Master! " Evan forced a smile as she pet it and asked :

" Hey little one . Why did you call me your master ? "

" Because you're my master , silly " He looked up and grinned " Hm... I pictured you different , master . Heeeeey... ! What's the face ? You ... don't want to be my master ? "

" No... It's not that... i just don't know if I'm ready for a pet " Evan shook her head , held the little lizard up . He gasped in surprise and somewhat hurt :

" A p-p-pet ? Did you just call me a pet ? Why , I'm a dragon! The strongest being in the world! And you're my Master , you suppose to take care of me and train me so I can become a strong Dragon "

" S-sorry " Evan quickly apologized as the baby dragon's eyes were teary and he was about to cry " Hey... I'm sorry little dragon. I didn't mean to hurt your feeling "

" My name is Mir " He sniffed and grabbed onto her shirt again " If you don't trust me , I'll prove it to you "

He crawled along Evan's arm and got on top of her head . Mir squeezed his eyes shut and began to focus , his golden horns glowed in a bright white light , covered both him Evan . She closed her eyes and felt her body was wrapped in the strange light , and the next moment , they were back in the barn . As Evan's eyes slowly adjusted to the light , she noticed something wasn't right : The barn was complete emptied , chicken feathers and straws was everywhere on the floor . Mir looked around and commented :

" Is this where you live master ? It's kind of messy but I like it ! "

" No Mir , I don't live here . But I have a bad feeling that... "

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><p>A loud cry echoed from outside the barn , made Evan startled ( Oh no ) She grabbed a thick branch and ran outside , to find her Dad had been knocked out cold , lying on the grass . The wild pig was destroying the vegetable field , eating the cabbages that she was going to harvest soon .<p>

" Oh , you're going down , pig ! " Evan mumbled to herself and charged to it with the branch raised high in her hands . The pig turned around as she hit it's head , hard enough to make the branch broke into two pieces ( Oh crap , not good ) She thought and quickly raised her arms in defend stand the moment that pig rammed into her again . Mir cried out loud :

" Master ! Are you alright ? "

" I'm fine... " Evan coughed out blood and got up on her feet . The baby dragon growled lowly " I'll kill you for hurting my master ! **Magic Missile "**

Mir took a deep breath , released it into light blue bubbles and shot them at the wild pig . It cried out loud as the blue bubbles knocked it back several feet away from Evan , left a few cut along it's body . She quickly got to Mir's side and said :

" Thanks Mir , you save my life "

" No problems , master . But the battle isn't over yet " He said , and Evan focused on the pig again . It had got up on it's feet again and about to charged at them again . She yelled :

" Mir , attack it "

" Ok master " Mir nodded " Magic Missile ! "

The pig was knocked out again , this time , it was thrown across the fences and knocked out cold . The baby dragon turned around and looked at Evan with a grin on his face :

" Do you believe me now , master ? "

" Uh... Yeah... " She nervously said . Suddenly , Evan heard footsteps and she quickly took off her straw hat and hid Mir in it . ( Stay in there and don't come out till I say so ) She whispered and put the hat – with Mir , back on her head . Utah appeared first , holding a tough looking rope in his hand as he embraced and asked her :

" Are you alright ? Did that damn pig hurt you ?

" No , but... "

" Where is that damn pig ? No one but me is allowed to hurt you ! "

Evan raised her fist and punched him in the stomach and pushed him away . Anna ran to her and dusted the dirt off Evan's clothes before cupped her cheek and asked :

" Honey , are you alright ? I'm so worry "

" Mom , I'm fine ! " Evan struggled , Anna sometimes has a really tight grip when it comes to her safety " I took care of that beast . It won't bother us anymore "

" Ok... " Anna sighed " Evan , go home and clean up . Utah , help me with your father "

Evan sighed in relief and ran straight back to the house , holding onto the hat so Mir wouldn't fell off . The little dragon peeked out and grabbed onto Evan's hair as she slammed her bedroom door and threw herself onto the bed , groaned :

" Oh god , could this day be any weirder ? " Mir's stomach began to growled loudly , and Evan sighed " It just did... "

She got up and picked Mir off her head " So what do my dragon want to eat ? Meat ? Grass ? "

" I don't know . You're my master , so you have to feed and take care off her "

Evan groaned again . She heard the front door opened , so Evan looked out from the window to see Utah was carrying Dad inside , with a huge cut on his forehead . Anna's voice echoed :

" Evan honey , come down . I need you to do something "

" Coming mom ! " Evan turned around and looked at a dizzy Mir " Let's go Mir . I'll get you something to eat "

" Honey could you deliver Chief Stan my letter ? It's on the table " Anna said as she cleaned on blood on her husband's wound " We can't delivered Henesys's food this week because of the little event earlier . And get yourself something to eat , too . I won't be cooking lunch today "

" Sure thing Mom " Evan grabbed the letter along with some meso her mom gave her " Bye Mom , tell Dad to get better soon "

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><p>" Maple Taxi at your service , young lady " The driver of a white cab said when Evan walked the road outside the rain forest " Just tell me where you're heading and we'll get you there in second "<p>

She looked at the taxi and sweated when she noticed there was some kind of green slimy liquid covered the wheels and a lot of leaves on top of the cab . Evan gulped as she got on the cab :

" Um... How much if I go to Henesys ? "

" 80 mesos , believe it ! Just put on your seat belt and pray ( ? )" Evan's eyes widen as he slammed the door closed and started the engine . The cab began to ran for it's life through the rain forest ( 80 miles per hours ? ) Evan panicked and grabbed onto the seat with on hand , the other hand held Mir closed to her chest . The driver said :

" Brace yourself , little lady "

The cab moved even faster as it ran through the forest , and Evan swore she saw an Iron hog through the rearview mirror as it was chasing after the cab . She closed her eyes and prayed for her life , swearing not to take another Maple Taxi again . She heard the driver cursed :

" Out of the way , people ! "

He pressed the honk and pushed the poor car lighting speed as it came out of the rain forest and stopped in front of a green gate . The moment that cab stopped , Evan quickly got out before she threw up . Mir giggled in her arms :

" It was fun ! Master , let's do it again ! "

" Spare me... " She shivered and dusted off her clothes...

Henesys was filled with people as Evan walked in , buying , selling and trading goods like weapons and armors . She looked around to find the grumpy old chief Stan talking to Mrs Ming Ming . She turned around and reminded Mir

" If anyone notice you , just keep quiet and stay close to me , ok ? "

" Sure thing , master " Mir nodded and climbed on top of her head again . She walked to those to old folk and greeted :

" Hi chief Stan , hi Mrs Ming Ming "

" Hi Evan , nice to see you again " Chief Stan grabbed his stick and got up , smiled at her " Gustav told you to bring us this week food , right ? Such a well behave child "

" Well... There was an unexpected problems this morning , so my dad can't delivery this week food " Evan pulled the letter out of her pocket and handed it to him " My mom told me to give you this "

" Oh well... " He sighed " People will have to hunt for food this week... "

" It isn't that bad " Mrs Ming Ming smiled " Athena got the chance to train those newbie archers "

" Yeah , yeah , whatever " He grumbled , looked at Mir " Kids these days... Always have really weird pet... I'll just pretend I never see it "

Mir said nothing , just stared at him and before Evan left , he stuck his tongue out , which made Chief Stan pissed off . He mumbled something under his breath before turn away while Ming chuckled :

" Weird , but it's a smart for a pet "

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><p>Evan walked to a small food stall , and quickly sat down at the last empty table before it was taken . Put Mir down on the table , she opened the menu and asked :<p>

" So , what do you want to eat ? "

" I don't know , you choose master "

" Excuse me " Evan looked up to saw a young man standing in front of her " Is this seat taken ? The other table are full "

" No , go ahead " She shook her head . He sighed in relief and sat down , put a baby wolf with brown fur on the table , next to Mir . It took a few stpes toward her before tripped on his own feet and fell down . Evan giggled and lifted the baby wolf up :

" He's so cute . What's his name ? "

" Him ? His name is Werewolf " He said " My friend named him , and when i tried to re-name him , he already got used to that name "

Werewolf reached out and licked Evan's cheek , made her giggled again . She looked at the young man in front of her and her cheeks suddenly went red as his ice blue eyes were watching her . Evan realized he looked really handsome with the tanned skin which bring out his eyes color . He has a long scar from his forehead down to his right cheek and his silver colored hair was tied up in a bun with a tough rope , which made him looked like a warrior . He chuckled :

" Did my face have mud ? "

" N-no " Evan stuttered , quickly looked away , her face was in a lovely shade of crimson color . Luckily , the waitess decided to show up , so she focused on the menu again and ordered " A burger and a chocolate milkshake please "

" Um... What she said " He looked confused when the waitress looked at him . Evan put the baby wolf down and asked :

" Is this your first time here ? You seem lost "

" I haven't been here for a while , and everything changed " He pet Werewolf " And who is this little lizard " He noticed Mir sitting there and drinking from Evan's glass of water . Mir roared :

" I'm not a lizard , I'm... " Mir stopped and notice Evan's deathly gaze " I'm Mir , not a lizard "

" Ok , Mir " He chuckled softly " I'm Aran , and who is your pretty master ? "

" Master's name is Evan ! Master is Mir's best friend and partner " Mir yelled out in exciment and Aran pet his head

" Here's your orders " The waitress put their food on the table and left without looking at them . Evan took the beef out of the burger and gave it to Mir and he ate it happily . Werewolf looked at him and drooled . Aran sighed :

" Here boy " He pushed the plate to the baby wolf and watch him ate " You two sure are a bunch of hungry pets "

" Tell me about it " Evan pulled out her wallet and going to opened it , but Aran smiled " Don't worry , I'll pay for the meal "

He put some money on the table and the waitress collected it before they could stand up . Evan protested

" You don't have to , I could've pay for myself "

" It's fine " Aran picked up Werewolf in his arms " I hope we'll meet each other soon , Evan "

**A/N : Yes! Aran's out**

**For those who's confused about their level in my story , Evan is lv.15 and Aran is lv.40 according to my story . Because Aran was out a few months before Evan does , so of course his level has to be higher than Evan's , and Werewolf is just a baby wolf so he can't ride it yet**

**R and R please [; I'll love you if you leave a review for me**


	3. Sleepywood's guard

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Chapter 3 : Sleepywood's guard**

" Hey Mir , I got something for you " Evan smiles as she pulled out a name tag on a blue ribbon in front of Mir's face . He blinked before ask :

" What is that , master ? "

" A cute necklace for my cute little dragon . Now hold still " She said and tied the name tag around his neck " If someone found you , they'll know where to take you "

" Thanks master! " Mir grinned and held onto her shirt , snuggled his head on her neck " You're the best! "

She giggled and pet his head before started walking to Henesys's East gate to get back home . (Going back there by taking the cab is so not one of my options ) Evan thought before entering a training field with a lot of wooden broads hanging on the tress , and arrows was everywhere on the ground . This must be the bowman training field , Evan took a few steps inside the forest before she heard the sound of leave rushing behind her

" Who there ? " Evan asked , looked around to find an elf standing behind her . Her beautiful golden haired reach her wrast as she walked to Evan , lightly swayed in the wind . Her green eyes looked at Mir curiously , before she asked :

" Gustav's daughter ? If I remember , you were just a little girl the last time you were here "

" Hi Athena " Evan sighed in relief " You scared me "

The female elf chuckled and walked to Evan , lowered her silver bow down . Evan noticed Athena was wearing a light armor over a tank top and a blue short . Athena was carrying a leather bag with arrows inside . She held out her bow :

" I see you are checking my arrows out . Do you wanna try ? "

" S-sure I guess... " Evan stuttered and held the bow in her hand . It was kind of heavy as she struggled to hold it , which made Athena and Mir giggled . Athena held her arms and fixed Evan's positon , moved her aim to a nearby board and put an arrow in her hand . Evan held the arrow and pulled the string with shaky hand before released it . The arrow went flying for like 2 feet before it fell on the ground , not even half way to the target yet . Evan was disappointed as she gave Athena her bow back

" Guess I won't be able to become an archer "

" Don't worry Evan " Athena gently pet her head " You can still become a thief or magician "

" But I thought there are warriors and pirates ? " She looked at the elf with confused eyes

" Warrior weapon are really heavy , and pirate need both speed and power " She explained " But Evan , why are you interesting in all of this ? I thought you gonna be a farmer like your father ? "

" Well... I thought... Going on an adventure might be fun , you know , for a change " Evan stuttered , tried to avoid the subject . Athena noticed Mir was holding onto her shirt , asked :

" Is that ... a baby dragon ? " Evan sweat dropped and shook her head " No , it's my lizard pet . I just got him this morning "

" Cute pet " She reached out and pet Mir's eggshell on his head . He crawled out of Athena's reach and hid behind Evan's back " Sorry , he's really shy . He doesn't like stranger "

The female elf smiled and pet her head one last time before she took off , jumped from tree to tree . Evan fixed her hair before coutinue to walked through the forest ( Weird , I don't remember crossing his path earlier ) Evan thought when she saw a blue mushroom poking out from a nearby bush . She looked at it for a second before told Mir :

" Mir , can you defeat that mushroom over there ? "

" Of course master " He grinned and let go of her shirt , flapped his little wings and flew to the blue mushroom . He took another deep breath and instead of blue energy balls like he used to attack the pig , Mir breathed out tiny fire balls and hit the mushroom twice on it's cap . The blue mushroom squealed , jumped out from the bush and charged at Evan with the famous cute smile on it's face . Mir breathed out another couples of fire balls again and aimed at it's face this time . The mushroom cried out loud before it fell flat on the ground and disappeared , leaving a golden coin and a blue mushroom cap there

" Sweet . Good job Mir " Evan picked up the coins before noticed a strange blue string on the ground that connected to the mushroom cap . The light blue string slowly faded away in front of her eyes , which surprised Evan

" Hey , you there ! What are you doing here ? " Evan turned around and saw a man in heavy armors , holding a spear in his hands and walked to her . She got up and shoved the coin in her pocket before answered :

" I'm trying to go home . Is that a problems ? "

" Is your home in Sleepywood ? " He asked " Hey , did you kill that Blue Mushroom ? "

" Y-yeah... " She said , confused as the man bend down to picked the cap up and turned it upside down . There was a small doll , a mini version of the blue mushroom Mir just killed with a thin string hanging out . The man in armor sighed :

" Great... Another stalking mushroom " He mumbled and ripped the doll out , tossed the cap away

" Wait , stalking mushroom ? What do you mean by that ? " Evan followed him with Mir by her side as the man left . He didn't bother to look at her as he explained " Lately , there have been a lot of reports on those Blue mushroom attacking travelers . Normally they'd only follow and scare people passing through , not attacking them "

" Maybe I could I find out why " Evan offered , not wanting to be rude . He turned around and took off the helmet to have a better look at her . He blinked :

" Did you just offered to help me ? "

" Yeah , is there anything I can do ? " She nodded and walked to him

" Do you want to be a guard ? " He asked " You could help us , and we pay high too "

" Sure , why not " Evan agreed " So when do I start ? "

" Tomorrow , don't forget to bring your weapon " Luke smiled , for the first time , his face looked rather handsome in Evan's opinion " 7 am on the dot , not a minute late... "

" Evan , my name is Evan "

" Not a minute late , Miss Evan " He winked before put his helmet back on and left...

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><p>Evan came running with Mir flapping his little wings by her side ( First day and I'm already running late . Stupid Utah , stealing my alarm clock ) She clenched her hands and ran faster , the watch on her wrist telling her she only have 2 minutes left<p>

" That idiot! Imma kill him... slow and painful " Evan cursed under her breath and stopped in front of a giant oak tree where Luke – the guard she met yesterday , was standing .

" Evan , you're early " He yawned , rubbing his eye " Good , now could you do me a favor and get rid of those blue mushroom ? They have been stalking traveler these day "

Luke put his helmet back on and leaned against the oak tree , staring at her , or atleast Evan thought so . She turned around and started looking in the forest for those blue creatures with Mir floating next to her . The little dragon has grown a little bit today , the eggshell was too small for his rather big head now , so Evan decided to remove it . She remembered Dad's reaction when he saw Mir

" Evan , what's the creature you're holding ? " Gustav asked

" Oh , this is my new... pet . A... dragon " She whispered nervously , hoping Gustav didn't hear her

" A dragon might bite , and it's dangerous so we probably have to kill it off " Gustav chuckled " But you can keep him since he looks like a lizard to me . Make sure to feed and take care of your pet , ok ? "

Evan nodded , but Mir was struggling in her arms , wanting to go and attack her Dad for calling him a lizard . It seemed only she can hears what Mir says , and to other people , Mir was only making yipping and whistling sound ( Then how does Aran can understand what Mir said ? ) Evan thought when she peered through some bushes to find a single blue mushroom turning it's back on her " There's one , go get him Mir ! " She shouted . Mir nodded and flapping his way to the mushroom and opened his mouth wide , gathering the flame in his mouth . The blue mushroom turned around and made a squeaking sound with a ... crying face ? Evan's green eyes widen as it bounced up and landed on Mir , jumped up and down . The little dragon cried out :

" Get off me ! Master , help me ! "

" Uh... " She looked around and spotted a silver wand lying on the ground , picking it up and threw it at the mushroom . The wand glowed in a bright light as it hit the mushroom and exploded , knocked the mushroom away from Mir " Keep your fungus off my dragon ! " Evan grabbed the silver wand and gave it a wave . The light appeared again , this time underneath the blue mushroom and turned into a pillar of light , killed it . Mir gasped in surprise and flew toward to her :

" That was amazing , master . How did you do that ? "

" I ... don't know... " Evan picked up the golden coin on the ground and noticed the blue string again , this time it was more visible under the sunlight and it led back to where Luke was ( Strange... ) She touched the string and felt some kind of electric was flowing in it

" Let's go Mir . I wanna know what is this and who is using it to control the mushroom " She put the silver wand in one of her inner coat's pocket and grabbed the string , followed it through a big hole on the giant oak tree...

A/N : Sorry for the late update and the short chapter . I promise I'll make the next chapter longer

Evan is getting close , she gonna meets the 1st member of the Black Wing in the next chapter

R and R


	4. Black Wing and Onyx dragon

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Chapter 4 : Black Wing and Onyx Dragon**

" Something isn't right " Francis mumbled and looked at the blue mushroom doll in his hand . It had stopped glowing a few seconds ago ( Someone must've cut off my mana string ) He tossed the doll on the floor and grabbed another Cursed doll , began to cast a spell

" Freeze! " Someone shouted , made Francis startled and turned around to face two people . He growled " You again ! Don't you know when to give up ? "

" Too bad , we're the hard head kind of people " The young man with blond hair smirked , his purple eyes narrowed at Francis as he put on his claw . The other person , holding a huge pole arm and wearing a fur coat took a step forward and said calmly :

" You've beated me once , but not this time Francis " Aran switched the polearm to his other hand and took another step " You ready Shin ? "

" Am I always ? " Shin pulled out three steelies and aimed at Francis before threw it at him with a swift movement . Francis barely avoided it , the doll in his hands began to glowed and turned into a wild boar , charged at them with strings connected from it's body to Francis's fingers . Shin quickly backed away , a purple flame with white eyes appeared next to him " Yo Darkness , distract the boar " . The purple flame blinked at him before floating to the boar and charged with the spiky circle around it while Aran held his polearm with both of his hands and swung it at Francis . He fell down while dogding it , crawled and hid behind the huge pot in the middle of the cave , mumbled " I can't beat those two on my own . I have to flee " Francis took out a small bomb from his long sleeve and tossed at them

" Look out ! " Aran shouted , grabbing Shin's arm and pulled him away from the bomb before it exploded and the cave was filled with grey smoke . Shin coughed , cursed under his breath

" Pepper ! Damn it ! " He blinked and tried to look through the smoke with teary eyes . Shin saw a black shadow ran past Aran and got out of the cave " He's getting away! " . Aran coughed and turned around , his polearm glowed a light blue color as he shouted " After him ! "

* * *

><p>The forest became really dark as Evan entered Sleepywood , her lungs was filled with the smell of earth and moss . The trees were huge with tall branches covered the sky , the sunlight barely reached where Evan was standing and the path was quite narrow . Mir took a deep breath and stuck his tounge out :<p>

" Yuck , it's icky in here . Who's crazy enough to live here anyway ? "

" I think you're just over reacting , Mir . The barn back home is way smellier compare to this forest " Evan chuckled and began to walk through the only path in the forest , carefully avoided the roots on the ground while following the strange string . She noticed a yellow tail poking out from a tree hole nearby , so she grabbed and pulled it out... Only to regret when she saw a one eye lizard with a piece of fresh meat hanging out from it's mouth . Evan startled and threw the Evil Eye away , shivered

" I hate Evil Eye " She mumbled and pulled the wand out . Evan felt something warm flowed from her right hand to the wand and made it glowed in a golden color before she aimed at the monster " Magic Flare " Evan shouted without thinking and the same pillar of light appeared , this time there was a pentable surrounded the Evil Eye and killed it with one shot . Mir chirped in exciment snuggled his head on her neck :

" Wow , Master is so strong! "

" Really ? " Evan smiled " If I knew going on an adventure would be this fun , I'd have gone for a long time ago " Mir float down on top of her head and lied down flat on his belly " See Master , I told you this is fun . Now let's find out where did this string come from! "

The longer Evan walked through the forest , the brighter that string glowed . It led down to a dark cave with water dripping down from the celling and torches were hanging on the wall . She saw a few mushroom wandering around the cave with a yellow charm on top of their head , made squeaking noise as Evan passed them and following her . Mir looked at the mushrooms and breathed out a single fireball , scared them away " Good job Mir " She petted him and continued to walked deeper inside the cave until...

" What the ? " Evan gasped when she saw a giant stump with a big hole on it . On top of the stump was a big puppet with lifeless eyes staring at her , creeping Evan out . She tightly gripped on her wand and walked into the stump . Her lungs was filled with the smell of pepper spray , making Evan coughed loudly and her eyes became watery . The string felt dead in the falm of her hand , fell on the ground and stop glowing as Evan walked further into the cave . Evan looked down and saw a clear liquid flowing on the ground from a rather big pot , on the celling was a giant doll hanging upside down

" -sniff- -sniff- "

" Who there ? " Evan raised her wand when she heard a small cry from across the cave . She narrowed her green eyes when a small boy peeked out from behind the pot , looking at her with big , teary eyes . He sniffed as Evan bend down and asked with a smile on her face

" Hey little boy , why are you crying ? "

" I-I'm scared ... " He began to cry " Mean people h-h-hit me... I'm s-s-scared "

" No , don't cry " Evan took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears on his face " Did you get hurt ? "

The little boy stared at her for a moment before showing her his bruised knee . She sighed , picked him up in her arms :

" Tell me where you live and I'll bring you back home "

* * *

><p>Francis – the little boy told Evan his name , leaned his head on her shoulder and fell asleep on the way back to Sleepywood . Mir looked at him and asked :<p>

" Master , aren't you gonna find out who control the mushroom ? "

" M-mushroom ? " Francis woke up , sluttered " W-what mushroom ? "

" It's nothing you should worry about , Francis " She gently patted his back " Let's just get you home first , ok ? "

" O-ok " He pointed at a small tree stump with a wooden door on it's base , just right behind the Sleepywood's Spa " My house is over the... Eek , Curse Eye! "

Francis held onto her tightly , hid his face in her hair . Evan saw the one eye green lizard crawled from behind the tree stump , grinned " Mir , could you help me ? My hand are busy " Evan held Francis , didn't want him to get hurt or fell off while Mir took off . Francis's eyes widen as Mir unleashed a fire ball at the Curse Eye , knocking it off ( This can't be... ) Francis thought , kicking his leg so Evan could put him down . To Evan's surprise , he ran straight to the house with his injured knee and opened the door . A woman wore purple dress walked out and picked him up

" She saved me from the mean people , Mom " Francis waved at Evan " And her pet helped too . Look Mom! "

The woman's gaze shifted to Mir – who is flying back to where Evan was standing , pushed her hair off her face and said :

" Thanks for saving my son , young girl . I'm apologize for wasting your time "

" It's nothing . I'm Evan - a guard , it's my job to help people " Evan smiled shyly , reached out to shake the woman's hand " But you shouldn't let him wander deep inside the tunnel . It isn't a safe place for kid "

" It's all my fault " Francis's mom sighed " I was drowned with work , and so does my husband . We barely spend time with little Francis and he doesn't have much friends "

Evan noticed the woman was staring at Mir with curious eyes befored she asked :

" Say , is that an Onyx dragon you're raising ? "

" Onyx what ? " Evan asked , looked confused as she turned to Mir

" Onyx dragon " She repeated " That's a rare kind , even in dragon kind . But I'm not really sure if your pet is an Onyx dragon , he could be a lizard "

Evan quickly grabbed Mir before he could charged at the woman for calling him lizard and reply " I don't know . But how do you know about those dragon ? "

" I read about Onyx dragon in a book at the Magic library a long time ago . Maybe you could find out about them , the library located on top of Ellina , just go west from here "

" I will , thanks for letting me know " Evan bow slightly " Bye Francis , I'll come and visit you soon "

" Bye Evan " Francis smiled and waved his hand " Bye Mir "

* * *

><p>" Hey master " Mir asked , crawled on her arm " Do you think I'm an Onyx dragon ? "<p>

" I'm not sure Mir , we just have to find out once we got to Ellina " Evan took a piece of leek in her lunch box and held in front of Mir . He shook his head and turned away , refused eating the vegetable . She put it back and held the box to his face . Mir reached out and grabbed the left over bone , bit down and chew happily , making cute munching sound " Cute " Evan chuckled and got up , gathered her stuff before countinue walking west to a forest with high trees with rich green leaves glittery in the sunlight . Mir look curiously at some fairies chit chatting on a high tree branch , their beautiful butterfly wings glowed behind their backs while their hair gracefully swayed in the wind . One of them noticed Evan , whispered something before flew down in front of her , fairy dust sparking from her wings

" Excuse me , I don't want to be rude but we do not welcome stranger , especially human in our forest . Please leave " She said , twirled a lock of her purple hair with her finger . Evan found it somewhat kinky , calmly said

" I'm sorry , I don't know this is your forest . I just want to get to the magic library "

" No , go away . We don't welcome human here ! " The fairy roughly pushed Evan , made her fell on the ground " Human can't be trusted , they always lies about everything ! "

" What's going on here ? " Evan heard a man voice , an old man voice , from behind . She turned around to see a mage dressed in a white robe and witch hat that covered half of his face . He has the longest beard Evan has ever seen , holding a wooden staff and a crystal ball on each hand . There is something about this old man , he seemed to glowed with bright white light . The fairy bowed :

" Grendel , it's nice to see you finally coming out of the library "

" Yes Arwen , I suppose it's nice to have a change , once in a while " He smiled , his beard twitching " But don't change the subject , Arwen . Tell me , what's going on here ? "

" T-t-there was a h-h-human , and I don't w-w-want her to be here " Arwen sluttered , nervously touched her silk dress " Y-y-you know how I h-h-hate human , Grendal "

" Ah... " He sighed " But pushing her isn't going to solve the problem , right Arwen ? "

The fairy shook her head as Grendel slightly bend down and offered his hand . Evan grabbed it and got up , dusted her clothes while Mir crawled back on her head . Suddenly , Grendel asked

" Young one , are you a magician ? I can sensed that you have a high level of magic "

" I-i-i don't know " Evan was taken back with the question , sluttered " I think so "

" This is weird , in a good way " He nodded " I sensed a familiar , yet unfamilliar mana , splited into two bodies . Weird... "

Grendel's eyes focused at Mir – the little dragon was messing with Evan's hair , blinked " Is that what I think it is ? "

" Huh ? " Evan looked at him , confused

" How does that impossible ? " The crystal ball in his hand fell off and broke into pieces " It can't be . The Onyx dragon ! "

" So Mir really is an Onyx dragon ! " Evan smiled and looked at him . Grendel was shaking , his hand began to sweat as the fairies helped him sat down " What's wrong with Mir being an Onyx dragon ? "

" Young one , you do not know ? That dragon of your , he's the last Onyx dragon... " Grendel wiped off some sweats on his forehead " I couldn't believe in my own eyes anymore... Onyx dragon still exist... "

" What do you mean by that ? "

" Young girl , I wouldn't act like this if I knew there is one that still survive... The true is , I always thought the Onyx kind has been extincted... "

" What ? " Both Evan and Mir yelled at the same time...

**A/N : I know , in Maple Story , there supposed to be a lot more quest till they know about the extinct of Onyx Dragon , but some quest can be pretty lame ( Travel around Victoria Island and kill 120 Fire boar ? Please , I'm not gonna put it in my fanfic ) and the info book about the dragon will be put in the next chapter . And " Francis's mom " is actually Eleanor**

**R and R , I love you all**


	5. The first mission

**Evan Rosalinda** : 16 years old

**Aran Rien** : 19 years old

**Shin Yoshida** : 20 years old

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 : The first mission<strong>

" What do you mean , extincted ? " Evan nearly cried out " I mean , Mir is still here , so Onyx dragon cannot be extincted "

" I understand what you mean , but according to the Great Maple History , Onyx dragon had been extincted for almost 400 years " Grendel opened the door to the magic library with a wave of his staff " Until Mir showed up "

The library was dull with a single candle burning in the middle of the room , covered with dust and the smell of moss . The old magician walked to a certain bookshelf and pulled out a book with leather cover , gave it to Evan with shaking hands . She blinked and looked at the golden letters on the cover

" Mystical creatures : Dragons " She sat down on a nearby chair , put the book on the table and opened it . There were many chapters about how a common dragon's like , where they lives , their ability , ect . Evan's eyes scanned through the first page until she saw the 5th chapter's title : Dragon's type , quickly flipped through the book and began to read

* * *

><p><strong><em>1) Prologue<em>**

_Dragon are not monsters. They are another race of creatures , both wise and intelligent._

_Granted, there are evil monsters that resemble Dragons. But don't write off all Dragons because of that! Good and evil exists in every species. Surely, there are some Dragons that can live in peace with us human._

_Sadly, some people don't recognize that and thinks all Dragons are evil creatures that need to be eliminated. They are complete wrong!_

_This book will provide every details and pratical infomations pertaining to every Dragons types and characteristics, allowing you to know which Dragons to avoid and which to befriend with._

_We hope this book will help prevent misunderstanding and allow all races to live in peace with Dragons._

**_2) Definition of a Dragon_**

_First, we must understand : What is a Dragon ? Lizards has short limb and over-sized body, but are they Dragons ? No!_

_You see, unlike lizards, Dragons has feeling and rationility and they can communicate with us humans. But people often mistake Wyverns, Drakes, Dragon Turtles as Dragons because they look similar to each other. Other creatures with sturdy horns, hard scales and tail that can breathe fire are also commonly mistaken as Dragons. But ehy are actually called Quasi Dragon, since they lack the intelligent of Dragons. Quasi Dragons are monster, though they often serve under the real Dragons race, since they have the tendency to obey stronger creatures._

**_3) Dragon types and characteristics_**

_There are many ways to categorize Dragons, such as scale color, horn shape, physical build, habital and Dragons personality. However, since this book is meant for the general population, it will only cover the major types of common and special Dragons._

**_A. Common Dragons_**

_Categorizing Dragons by their scale color is the most basic and and convenient method of distinguishing Dragons types. In Leafre, this method is used to caregorize and breed Dragons._

_Knowing a Dragon's personality can easily help you establish good rapport with the Dragons. There are types of Dragons :_

**_a. Red Dragons_**

_Dragons with red scales generally have the fire attribute. They must be approached with caution as they tend to be really volatile, although they are royal to their master. If you have irritated a Red Dragons , beware! The dragon may attack with Fire Breath, and their range can reach 500 feet long!_

_b. Blue Dragon_

_Dragons with blue scales generally have the ice attribute. They are perceptive and cold-hearted, and can be really petty. Do not get on their bad side if you don't want to end up frozen and fed to their baby_

**_c. Green Dragons_**

_Dragons with green scales generally have the wind attribute. They are playful and outgoing, love forests and do not permit the destruction of nature. They can be quite dangerous if you get too close to their territory_

**_d. Gold Dragons_**

_Dragons with gold and orange scales generally have the holy attribute. They can be overly creafree, as they are calm and peaceful by nature._

_Gold Dragons can only be tamed and summoned by a Bishop, and they will fulfill your requests no matter what, but no one can tell how long it will take for them to finish it._

**_e. Black Dragons_**

_These Dragons have black scales and black horns, while most dragons have horns that are a different color from their scales, Black Dragons are entirely black, even their horns._

_These Dragons generally have the darkness attribute, and although they are quiet and considerate, they can be really dangerous with their poisoned teeth and spiky tail_

**_B. Special Dragons_**

_Sometimes, a dragon may physically appears to be a colored dragon, yet have a completely different characteristics. These are known as " Special Dragons_

**_a. Serpent Dragons_**

_While common Dragons have plump bodies and long tails, a Serpent Dragon resembles as a snake with long body and distinctive facial features. Serpent Dragons live near the sea and feed on small fish._

_The personality of a Serpent Dragon can be simply described as neutral. It does not attack unless it is threatened, and it allows others to enter itsterritory if , and only if they pay the proper fee._

_Serpent Dragons do not have a specific attribute. They use both Fire Breath and Ice Breath, and have resistances to both. It is said they are proficient in magic, although the seldom use it._

_Although it is hard to find Serpent Dragons in Victoria Island and Ossyria, it has been reported that a Serpent Dragons named Leviathan has appeared near Minar Forest._

**_b. Mutant Dragons_**

_Who is the most famous Dragon in all of Maple World ? Ask a thousand people and every single one of them will say " Horntail! ". However, only a handful of people have ever seen Horntail in person and thus, only a handful of people know that Horntail is a Mutant Dragon._

_Horntail can be categorized as a Black Dragon because of its scale color and horns. But because it is a three-headed Dragon, it is recognized as a special Dragon instead of a common Dragon. Each of Horntail's three heads has different ablities, and one of the heads is said to use a powerful luring skill._

_Horntail may be an intelligent Dragon, but it is currently regarded as a monster in Maple World due to its vicious personality. Leafre is constantly recruiting members to join its expenditionary team to defeat Horntail, who has betrayed Nine Spirit, kidnapped it's child and put Minar Forest in danger._

_Of course, it is not easy to challenge Horntail. Currently, Horntail is the most powerful Dragon in Maple World. Of the three Dragon kinds, Afrien went missing and Nine Spirit is in the process of recuperating from Horntail's betrayal, so Horntail stands unchallenged in Maple World._

**_c. Onyx Dragons_**

_At first glance, Onyx Dragons look like Black Dragons because they both have black scales, but Onyx Dragons have golden horns their scales have a clear and mysterious glow. They have the most unique growth process of any Dragons : The Onyx Dragons grow physically depending on their mental growth. A newborn Onyx Dragon has unstable mental and physical abilities. Evan after time passes, it will not develop if left alone. The only way for an Onyx Dragon to grow is to enter a Spirit Pact with another race._

_An Onyx Dragon that enters a Spirit Pact will be spiritually linked to that person for eternity. Once it happens, the Onyx Dragon will finally recognize itself as a being and begin to develop intelligence. When its Master grows, the Onyx Dragon will grown accordingly. A spirit develop endlessly, so an Onyx Dragon's growth potentil is also endless. Onyx Dragons with good masters can acquire unrivaled amounts of power. Unfortunately, Onyx Dragons are said to be extinct..._

**_4) Conclusion_**

_Dragons in Maple World have their own thoughts, feelings and will. Not all Dragons are good, but that isn't a good enough reason to regard all Dragons as monsters._

_We can befriend Dragons, with the right mindset and diplomacy. So study them, and then give it a shot! Your life will surely be enriched_

* * *

><p>Evan sighed and closed the book, avoided looking in Mir's eyes. The baby dragon's eyes were teary and he was shaking from the truth about his own race. Mir let out a loud cry and began to sobbed loudly, tears ran down freely on his face. He growled angrily when Grendel reached out, tried to comfort him<p>

" E-excuse me, I think we need to take our leave " Evan picked Mir up in her arms and got up, her mouth felt dry and tasted bitter " T-thanks for the information... "

She ran off, tears flowed down from her eyes as she held Mir tightly against her body. The baby dragon hiccuped, snuggled his head on Evan's coat " It's ok Mir. D-don't cry... " She petted him lightly on the head " I'm here for you... "

" This is so unfair! I don't even have the chance to see my own race! " Mir cried out " How can Onyx Dragon extinct when I'm still here ? "

Evan remained silent and sat down on the ground, gently stroke Mir's back " Look Mir, we cannot change what already happen. But I promise, we'll get in the bottom of this. Deal ?"

"O-ok master " Evan wiped away the remain tears on his face and let Mir sat on top of her head before she stood up and walked to where the forest end...

* * *

><p>" Werewolf, sit! " Aran commanded, held out the piece of fresh pork in front of the wolf's face. Werewolf has grown quite big in just a few weeks, its fur became quite thick and really soft. Lillin suggested he should ride on Werewolf to travel around faster, but Aran was having a hard time training the playful wolf. It barked and jumped on Aran, licked his cheek before bit the piece of meat<p>

" You stupid wolf... " He sighed and got up, just to be pushed down again " Ow... My head "

" Hero " Aran looked up to see the information dealer – Tru looked down at him. He helped Aran got up " Bad news, we need to go to my place now "

Aran quickly grabbed his polearm and followed him back to Lith Harbot. Tru unlocked the door to his house and roughly shoved Aran inside without even letting him take off his shoes. He noticed the house was messier than usual as Tru dug into the scrolls on the table and pulled out a letter with wings

" The fairy in Orbis reported that a member of Black Wing has been wandering near the Sealed Garden " Tru handed him the letter " So I want you to get there and prevent Black Wing from entering the garden and steal the Sealed Stone "

" Understood " He nodded and Tru gave him a yellow ticket " I know you never been out of Victoria, so here the ticket for the flight to Orbis. The ship is located on top of Ellina. Careful, ok ?"

" Yeah yeah " Aran mumbled " You and Lillin are like over protective parents... " He added the last part before ran off and got on Werewolf, leaving Tru blushing "Idiot! I only care about Lillin as a sister! "

* * *

><p>Aran smirked as he let Werewolf ran all the way to Ellina. The fairies here were quiet friendly with him, knowing he was once the Hero from the past. One of them, the purple haired fairy that study about animals flew to him and smiled<p>

" Aran, what wind bring you here ?" Marr gave him a hug and petted Werewolf on the head " Aww, little Werewolf grew so big"

" If by big you mean eating all the supply I got, then yes, he is huge " Aran chuckled " I gotta leave now, or else I might miss the flight to Orbis"

He turned around and bumped into someone, causing that person to fall off " Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you alright ?" Aran stammered, quickly helped her got up on her feet. She mumbled something about how hard her head hit his armor, rubbing her forehead and about to yell at him before she looked at his face " Aran ? "

* * *

><p>Evan cursed whoever bumped and made her fell, landing on the floor with her bottom. She pushed her hair off her eyes, fell that person grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. She was about to give the man a piece of her mind before Evan noticed the familiar ice blue eyes and silver colored hair " Aran ? " She gasped, covered her mouth with her hands. He has cut his long hair and somehow managed to styled it like a short mohawk. Aran switched his polearm to his right hand after letting go of her wrist, asked with a concern tone " Evan, did you get hurt ?"<p>

"No, not at all" She shook her head "So, you're a warrior. Nice armor"

"And you're a magician" Aran smiled, pointed at Evan's clothes. She was wearing a blue top and matching dress for magician, hugged her body and showing him her curves. Somehow, he couldn't take his eyes off her, staring at Evan's bare shoulders, flat stomach and a hint of her lower stomach...

Evan noticed Aran was staring at her, blushed and used her cape to cover her body " Pervert " She mumbled, low enough so Marr couldn't hear her. Aran quickly looked in another direction and noticed the creature flying next to her " Is that Mir ? "

The Onyx Dragon was watching them curiously, nodded when Aran asked. Mir has grown two time the bigger since the last time Aran saw him: He must be atleast 5 feet length, with bigger wing and longer tail, Mir's scales was a dark blue color now, but he still had the same tiny horns on his head and that cute, baby face. He grinned at Aran " I remember you, you're the one I saw with master at Henesys "

" How did he get so big ? " Aran was surprised. Normally it'd take a dragon a few years to grow to full size, but there was something strange yet familiar about Mir. He remembered seeing another similar dragon like him before, but Aran couldn't figured out when

"Is everything alright ?" Evan asked curiously, took a step closer to him "N-no, I was just... spaced out" Aran sluttered, turned away to hide the blush on his face ( She is so cute ) He thought, glanced at her face, which was only a few inches away from him. Her mint colored eyes seemed to sparkling when Aran looked at her, and he pressed the urge to kiss her when he noticed her pink lips for the first time. Werewolf suddenly barked and jumped on Evan, knocked her down again and licked her cheek happily.

" Oh god, stop! That's tickle!" Evan giggled, tried to pushed him off "Is every dog in the world just have to knock me off and lick me ?"

( They're really lucky ) Aran mumbled, low enough so no one could hear as he helped her get up

" Miss Evan, are you ready for today lessons ?" Grendal suddenly appeared out of no where, thick books were floating beside him "Today we will learn about Basic skill for beginner magician. But first, I want you to read these books"

" Of course, master Grendal" Evan picked up her wand before turned around and looked at Aran " I guess I'll talk to you later, Aran "

She tip toed and kissed him softly on the cheek before followed Grendal to the forest outside Ellina, leaving him frozen on his feet, his face blushed

* * *

><p>" Miss Evan, did you practice Magic Guard ? It's a very importance skill that every magician must mastered " Grendal put the books down on a stump " Remember what I told you yesterday ? "<p>

" Magic guard helps us magician endure powerful attacks by creating a mana shield around us " Evan answered, earning a smile from the kind magician " I've been praticing it yesterday afternoon and I've mastered it "

" Very good, but you're only mastered magic guard outside battlefield. Now you must mastered casting it during a battle " Grendal turned around " Mir, could you come over here "

The Onyx dragon was chasing after a Slime, trying to aim and attack it, turned around and flew to Evan " We'll test how fast you can react to an attack, Miss Evan. Please stand over there " Grendal pointed to a tree which is about 50 feet from where they are standing " Mir and I will stay here and attack you with our magic. Try your best to block our attack "

Evan gulped as she walked to the tree, her hands were shaking " Ready ? " Evan nodded when the old magician asked. He whispered something to Mir and the dragon grinned and nodded. Mir took a deep breath and released a fireball at her. Evan quickly raised her wand and shouted:

" Magic guard! "

From the tip of her wand, a thin, blue smoke floated out and turned into a magical shield, blocked Mir's attack. Evan barely got a chance to lower her guard down before Grendal casted an ice spell at her. She swung her wand while maintained the shield as they tried to land as many attacks as possible. As the training went on, Evan managed to block most of the attacks, but she still received a few cuts and burns along her arms until...

" Magic shield! " Evan shouted in another attempt to create a new shield to protect her. Instead of the blue shield came out from her wand, a golden colored barrier appeared with four orbs floating around her. They absorbed every attacks Grendal and Mir released at her, without Evan doing anything. The old magician stopped, walked to her with curious eyes

" Interesting... You managed to create a new skill on your own " Grendal hovering his hand above one orb " This must be a skill only an Onyx dragon's master could cast. Today training is complete, you may rest for now "

" Thanks god " Evan sighed in relief as she sat down on the grass, the barrier slowly faded in thin air. Mir floated beside her, licked Evan's sweaty forehead " My master is so powerful "

Evan laughed softly at his comment before got up and dusted her clothes " C'mon, let's get us something to eat. You probably hungry, attacking me non-stop ". Mir smiled sheeply as they walked back to Ellina.

* * *

><p>" All abroad! " The captain's voice echoed from the megaphones the ship stopped beside the station. Aran quickly rushed to the ticket stand with Werewolf running behind him. He roughly shoved the ticket in the captain's hand and jumped on the ship ( I made it ) He sighed in relief and sat down on the wooden floor. The captain let two more people on the ship before he closed the gate and and shouted<p>

" The ship is leaving in 2 minutes, please get in the cabin for your safety "

The ship began to rock violently as it took off, the wind cooling hit Aran's face as he leaned on Werewolf. Most people on the ship started going inside the cabin, leaving Aran with the last two people got on the ship. They looked like a couple to Aran : The young man, probably around his age, wore a gold colored robe that covered most of his body. He had long, raven hair that reached his shoulder, reflected to his pale skin. The girl standing next to him has the similar pale skin, her eyes was a light pink color that matched her pink hair. She smiled and playfully hugged the young man from behind " Carry me! " Aran could heard her laugh from where he was sitting, looking the couple playing around the ship.

" Look, Bahamut! A wolf! " The girl finally noticed him, or rather Werewolf, squealed out in exciment as she dragged her boyfriend " Cecelia, hold on! " Cecelia ignored him and kept running to where Aran was sitting. Cecelia pushed Aran off and petted Werewolf, making baby face to the wolf.

" Hey man " Bahamut helped Aran got up " Is your girlfriend always like this ? " He asked, picked up his polearm. Bahamut chuckled, his dark blue eyes looked at Cecelia " She ? My girlfriend ? No, we're just familiar "

" Bahamut, we aren't related " Cecelia turned around and pouted slightly. Bahamut shook his head and sighed " You're such a child "

Cecelia stuck her tongue out at him and kept on petting Werewolf, who was waving his tail furiously and furred. Suddenly, Aran saw another ship, with all the skull and bone decoration on it's body appeared from the cloud, began to float closer to the ship. From the deck, he could see human-like creatures with dark brown fur and wings on it's back standing in front of a cabin door. One of it growled:

" I see people, get them! "

The Crimson Barlogs took off and flew directly to the ship, their claws glowed dangerously as they got closer " Cecelia! " Bahamut shouted, his eyes began glowed in bright white color. Cecelia got up and grabbed a short gun from the leather pouch on her thigh, aimed at the beast. With a loud bang, she managed to knocked one of them down with one shot. It roared, charged at the girl with lighting speed. Before Cecelia could react, Bahamut appeared right in front of her

" Stay away from her " He mumbled and with one swift moment, the Barlog was complete vanish from thin air, leaving a pile of ashes on the wooden floor. Meanwhile, Aran was left to deal with two Crimson Barlogs at the same time. He gripped on his polearm tightly and aimed at the the shoulder on one Barlog. The polearm missed it and the beast swung it's claw at him, knocked Aran off. His eyes widen when it's claw wrapped around his neck, lifted him up. He coughed weakly, his lungs felt like they can burst any second as the Barlog squeezed him ( I can't die like this.. )

" Hey you! Pick on somebody your own size! " Cecelia shouted, fired her gun. The beast released Aran as the bullet hit it dead center on the head, growled loudly " Get him inside the cabin. I'll take care of the rest " Bahamut held out his hand, created a golden orbs. Cecelia nodded, quickly dragged the pole-arm weilder inside the cabin. After they were out of sight, Bahamut began to shake violently and turned into a gold colored scale dragon. He opened his mouth wide and shot a white flame at them, kill the Barlogs with a single attack. The Gold dragon watched them faded into ashes, sighed:

" They weren't that hard to kill before. If only you were here, Mistress... "

Bahamut closed his eyes, a single teardrop ran down from the corner of his blue eyes as he turned back into human form and walked inside the cabin...

* * *

><p>Mir hungrily swallowed the food, his face was stuffed up with all the food Evan bought for him " Slow down, Mir. Do you want to choke yourself to death ? " Evan sighed, sipped the special fairy tea she brew from the fairy tea leaves. The Onyx dragon licked the food on the corner of his mouth, started eyeing Evan's dinner " Oh no you don't! " She glared at him, hit his claw away.<p>

" Excuse me " Evan turned around to see a man in black suit, wearing sunglasses standing behind her " Are you Evan ? "

" Yes, I am " She nodded " And you are ? "

" Oh, how rude of me. I'm Hiver, Francis's... dad " The man seemed uncomfortable saying the last word " I want to thanks you for helping my son "

" It was nothing " Evan smiled and stood up, held her hand out. Instead of shaking hands, Hiver gently held it and kissed Evan's knuckles. He looked at Mir and smiled " This must be your dragon, Mir isn't it ? "

" Yeah " She nodded " Are there any reasons for you to meet me ? "

" I almost forgot " Hiver laughed sheepishly and rubbed his back " Can you do me a small favor ? I need some magic ingridients from Ellina for my potion, but I don't have enough time to gather them "

" So you want me to get those ingridients for you ? " She thought a moment before nodded " It seems easy enough. But what kind of ingridient do you need ? "

" That's very kind of you to help me. Anyway, I need some Slime gels, Pixie's Wings and Magic Ice, oh wait I already got that " He pulled out a scrolls from his inner pocket and scanned through the list. Evan noticed the title on top of the scrolls said " Rapid growth accelerant ? That stuff is for growing crops , right ? "

" Yes, yes, crops " Hiver replied without looking at her " Alright, I just need some Slime gels and Pixie wings. 10 each should be enough "

" Easy enough. I already have those items with me right now " Evan smiled and dug into her backpack. Hiver's smile turned into a sinister grin as he looked at Mir, scared the dragon. He mumbled something, low enough so no one could hear before Evan grabbed the bottle she used to contain green gel from those Slime and put it on the table " Here's the gel. And the pixie wings should be somewhere around here " She grabbed the small pack wrapped in a white cloth and opened it. There are dozens of monster drops inside, with a few jewel ores she found while training on the wild boar. Evan picked up a few piece of brown wings cut from the pixies and gave it to Hiver " Is this the one ? "

" Oh yes, this must be the wings from those pixie " He nodded , took it and the bottle of gel " Thank you so much miss Evan. I don't know what to do without you " He shook her hand a few times and pulled out a sack of meso from his bag

" Oh no, I'm not doing it for mesos " Evan smiled, trying to refuse the man " I insisted, you've done a good deed and it's the least I could do to repay you " Hiver put the sack on the table " Thanks again " He bowed and quickly left to the station. Evan looked at his back until he complete disappeared out her sight, sighed and picked up the sack without noticing a shiny black medal was attracted to the leather sack...

* * *

><p><strong>An** : This is the longest chapter I've ever written, so yay me!

I'm awared some of you might ask about Bahamut, and I'll give you the answer so no one could get confused : Yes, Bahamut is one of Bishop's skill, but he has a mind on his own and he can use skills just like a magician. But Bahamut's class is actually " Guardian " A spirit that was summoned ( Like Ifrit or Beholder or even Phoenix ) and he could attack on his own will. If you don't feel comfortable about it, please click back

Read and review please, and I'll update the next chapter soon


	6. Slumbering dragon island

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia : 15 years old**

**Chapter 6 : The slumbering dragon island**

Aran blinked, feeling something wet on his cheek as he got up. His eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light as he felt someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him up

" Mohawk, are you up yet ? " Cecelia's voice seemed faint and sounded like she was far away from him. Aran's eyes shot opened when Bahamut snapped his fingers in front of him " W-What happen ? "

" You've been out for a while, man " Bahamut clicked his tongue " We have to carried you to Orbis's potion store to see if you have any wounds "

Aran grunted as he tried to move his right arm " Don't! " Cecelia stopped him " Your shoulder is bruised and you might have atleast two cracked bones " The warrior realized: The flight to Orbis, Crimson Balrogs, he being threw across the deck... " If only my mistress was here, she could heal that wound in just a few seconds " Cecelia smiled sadly as she reached out to touch his shoulder. A warm, golden light appeared on the tip of her fingers and entered Aran's body, but it disappeared after 5 seconds " I cannot maintain it like mistress does " The pink haired girl sighed and stood up straight

" Where is your mistress then ? Surely you could get her here, right ? " Aran asked, laid down on the soft mattress. Bahamut and Cecelia exchanged a worried look before the raven haired answered " I can only tell you that she is missing and we're trying to find her "

" We really sorry, we couldn't tell you more than that " Cecelia whispered " It's for mistress's safety "

" I understand " Aran nodded. Two fairies flew in the store, carrying herbs basket in their arms. One of them floated to where Aran was lying, asked " He is awake already ? I thought he would be out for like a week " She dug through the basket and took out a bottle with purple liquid, gave it to Aran " Power elixer. This is the only one I could brew from today's herbs "

" Thank you " Aran popped out the cork " Wait, I was out for how many days ? "

" 3 days " Bahamut got up " That reminded us, we are running late. Let's go Cecelia "

The pink haired girl quickly gathered their bags and her gun before got up and followed Bahamut outside " Bye Mohawk, bye Werewolf " She winked and ran off. Aran sighed at her playfulness, turned his attention to the two fairies. They were wearing Greek styled clothes and their wings was different from the fairies in Ellina, they was angel wings. One of them, the one with red haired that tied into two buns gasped when her friend told her something

" What ? Someone broke into the Sealed garden ? How ?"

" The Nependeath suddenly became huge. They started destroying the Cloud park if we don't do anything about it " Aran growled and got up, ignored the dull pain on his shoulder and picked up his polearm " Werewolf, let's go " He quietly ordered before rushed to the door...

" This is way too easy " Hiver chuckled as he stepped through the silver gate of the Sealed Garden. The garden was empty, except there was a purple stone floating in the middle of the garden, glowed brightly under the sun. Hiver clapped his hands together " Those idiot fairies just gave me the stone on a sliver plate " He laughed and walked to the stone

A giant polearm was threw at him as Hiver was a few feet away from the Seal stone. The sharp blade of the polearm glowed and left a long cut on Hiver's shoulder when he tried to dodge it. Aran climbed off Werewolf's back and growled " Stay away from the Seal stone "

" Isn't it the Hero without memory " Hiver stopped the bleeding with his other hand " I must say, you've improve your skills " He walked to the polearm and picked it up. With one swift movement, he threw it back to Aran, who barely avoided it " About time, I wanted to test your skill to see if you really are a threat to us "

" Just don't cry when I kick your sorry ass " Aran grabbed the polearm with his uninjured arm and charged at Hiver. The Black Wings leader smirked and took off, dark flame appeared in the palm of his hands before he threw it at the silver haired warrior. Aran quickly swung his weapon and blocked the attacks, absorbed the flame " What the ? " Hiver gasped, backed away from him. Aran looked at his weapon just as it glowed and he felt somekind of energy flowing into his body, made he felt stronger " Alright! " Aran chuckled and charged again, holding the polearm tight in both his hands and gave it a swing. Blue aura began to covered Aran's body as he attacked Hiver, swinging the polearm back and forth before he swifted it in a low circle. Hiver cursed under his breathe as he tried to avoid the polearm, unabled to land any attacks at him. The aura around Aran prevented him to get close and it acted like a shield around the warrior. Hiver threw another dark flame at Aran, his eyes narrowed when he saw it barely touched his bruised shoulder ( Everybody has a weakness ) He smirked and pulled a dagger from the belt.

Aran quickly backed off, eyed the dark colored dagger with caution. His injured arm began to feel sore after swinging the polearm non-stop, and he was already at the point of passing out. Aran tried to breath evenly, gripped the polearm tight before he charged at Hiver again, gave it one final swing.

Hiver easily dogded the attack, seeing Aran was already worn out and would passed out any second. He raised the dagger and the moment Aran let down his guard, Hiver stabbed him in the shoulder.

" The way I see it, you aren't really a threat to us " He smirked " Soon the Black Mage will be revived and no one can stop him " Hiver turned around and snatched the Seal Stone in his hand. Gave Aran a hard kick in the stomach, he laughed before vanished in thin air...

* * *

><p>" Teleport! " Evan shouted again and jumped off the tree branch. With a small " poof ", the dragon master disappeared and reappeared a few miles away... without the lower half of her body<p>

" Ow ow ow " Evan hissed in pain as she tried to move around. Grendal sighed and waved his staff, connected two parts of her body together " You are not focus enough, Miss Evan. Teleport can only be used when you're 100% focused on where you want to move to "

" But it's so hard " She sat down on the grass " I prefer walking more "

" You need more practice, young one " Grendal rubbed his tempers " I have something that you might be interested in " He casted a spell and a wooden framed door appeared, connected to the magic library. Evan followed the old magician through the door and saw him took out a notebook with wrinkly brown cover as if it had been dropped in water before. Grendal gave it to Evan and said:

" I found this when I was looking for more informations of the Onyx Dragon. It's a dairy of a retired Sailor lives in Lith Harbot " Evan grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, opened the old dairy

* * *

><p>Crew Member's Voyage Log<p>

-Written by John, a retired crew member-

Prologue

This book is a collection of my experiences while out to sea as a crew member. My experiences reveal the thrilling life of a man of the sea, so read it if you wish to live vicariously through my adventures.

But remember, a true adventurer is someone who has experienced of the world, and not a person who merely reads someone else's voyage log

June 29th – Sunny

I have been on dry land for too long! Soon, I embark on a new voyage. This time, I broad the new Thunder Bolt under the command of Captain Alpha. He is well known, so I have high hopes for this voyage

June 30th – Sunny

A lovely day. The voyage is off to a smooth start!

July 1st – Sunny

The wind is favorable. We're sailing faster than expected. Captain Alpha suggested we take a shortcut and sail through the Karibbean Triangle.

I'm sure the path is shorter, but that part of sea is known for its atrocious weather and deadly reefs. That worries me.

July 2nd – Sunny

We agreed to enter Karibbean Triangle as Captain Alpha suggested. I was nervous, but we haven't encountered any problems thanks to the proficient crew members. Actually, it's going extremely well.

July 3rd – Sunny

Everything seems peaceful. I worried for nothing

July 4th – Sunny

The sea is never this calm here. We must have luck on our side. Many crew members, including the Captain, have taken to napping on the deck to bask in this lovely weather

July 5th – Sunny

I've never been feeding the see gulls. Now, they visit me! On land, I scare people with my threatening appearance, but the sea gulls don't care. It's so peaceful, being here with gulls. And pirates aren't foolish enough to attack a huge ship like ours, so I don't have to worry about that, either.

July 6th – Sunny

We're about to pass leave the Karibbean Triangle. The expected 20 days voyage has been shortened to 10. I'm glad we followed Captain Alpha's instincts.

July 7th – Sunny

I'm so relaxed. I've been fishing. Something isn't quite right, though. The sea gulls have stopped visiting, Are we too far from their home now ?

July 8th – Sunny

The sea is too much quiet. I'm unease. I mentioned this to one of the guys and he just laughed. I don't know whether I'm being mocked or not. I just hope I'm wrong

July 9th – Sunny

I asked Captain Alpha if he thought anything felt strange to him. He laughed and said I worry too much. I hope he's right. He does have more experience than I do

July 10th – A sudden storm!

We were hit by a ferocious storm! Thunder Bolt happened to be in the eyes of the storm, which explains why the weather was so calm. No wonder those sea gulls stopped visiting. The storm will most likely get stronger. Will we survive this calamity ?

July 11th – Overcast

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the shore of a strange island. Thunder Bolt must be completely wrecked. I wonder if Captain Alpha and the others are okay, but right now, I must worry about myself. This island is covered in ice. I'm freezing! I wrapped myself in a tattered sail I found floating nearby. I still have my harpoon on me, so I can hunt fish. I'm glad I didn't lose my voyage log in the midst of all this

July 12th – Overcast, then rainy

The island is covered in snow. I see some animals and plants but no sign of human life. Could this be a deserted island ? I hope not. Anyway, it looks like it about to rain. I should head inland and look for some sort of shelter

July 13th – Rainy

I almost fainted! I hid myself in a cave, but as I wandered deeper. I found a monster: A Dragon! I've heard of such creature in fairy tales... Now, before my very eyes, there is a dragon, frozen in ice

It has black scales and four golden horns. Quite intimadating. I'm huddled in a nook near the entrance of the cave because I'm scare to go too close. If it awakens, I can flee outside

July 14th – Rainy, then sunny

Luckily, the Dragons hasn't woken up, yet. I was visited by some friendly faces today. The sea gulls! They recognized me, I think. I fed them some fish, and then i brilliant idea came to me. I ripped a piece of my clothing and wrote a note to whomever, asking them to rescue me. Then I tied it around one of the sea gull's legs. I hope someone finds it.

July 15th – Overcast, then rainy

Constant rain, I waited all day by the shore but didn't see a single ship. No one sails through the Karibbean Triangle, so I only have one hope, The sea gulls...

July 16th – Sunny

I saw a ship! It reached the shore within seconds. The sea gulls had surrounded the ship and guided it to me. It is indeed a rescue ship! I'm saved! My sea gulls saved my life!

* * *

><p>Evan nearby dropped the book as she read over and over the line " It has black scales and fours golden horns ". She slammed her hands on the table " That man, whoever wrote this saw an Onyx Dragon! "<p>

" Are you sure, Miss Evan ? " Grendal asked " I don't know any Dragons that has four horns before. He could've made that up "

" No, I'm sure! The time I entered the Pact with Mir, I saw a dragon with black scales and four golden horns " Evan started grabbing her stuff " I have to see him "

" Don't be a hot headed " The old magician hit her lightly on the head with his staff " Even if the Dragon is real, you should prepare to go on a voyage "

Evan turned around and took a deep breath, pressed down her urges to ran straight to Lith Harbot and demand a ship. Grendal floated upstair, grabbed an old cloak with some potions and gave them to her " Thanks Master Grendal " Evan tip-toed and kissed him on the cheek before ran off " Kids... " He chuckled and closed the library door...

Evan hopped from branches to branches, her gaze wandered around the forest to find Mir and saw the Onyx Dragon was lying on his back, having his stomach scratched by Marr. Evan frowned, watching Mir stuck his tongue out and waved his tail ( He and Bull are gonna be like brothers )

" Mir, stop playing around! " She called out " We gotta get to Lith Harbot, right now! "

" What's wrong, master ? " Mir got up and flew to her. Evan lowered her voice and whispered " I think I've found another Onyx Dragon "

" Really ? " Mir gasped, his eyes were filled with hope " Are you sure master ? Then let's go! " Mir grabbed her hand and started pulling EVan toward the path that lead to Henesys " We're too slow! " The Onyx dragon whined " Climb on my back, master " He bend down in front of Evan. She looked slightly confused as she climbed on Mir's back and clutched to his neck. His scales were slippery as Mir flew through the forest, his wings created buzzing sound next to her ears. Evan quickly wrapped her arms around Mir's neck and squeezed her eyes shut as a light blue aura covered them, boosted his speed

" That was... worse than taking a taxi... " Evan dizzyly climbed off his back and moaned " Ow... My bottom hurt... "

" Sorry master " Mir pouted, licked her cheek. She rubbed her lower back and leaned on him as they entered Lith Harbot. The sound of ocean wave and cool wind blowing calmly hit the harbot, the smell of salty water filled Evan's lungs. She inhaled deeply and felt the cool sensation washed over her, relaxed her muscle and started looking for the old man name John...

* * *

><p>" Fresh fish! Just caught this morning! " Mir drooled at the sight of fresh fishes around the market and tugged Evan's coat, hoping she'd get him some " No Mir, we're here to find the other Onyx dragon, remember ? ". The Onyx dragon pouted, but followed her outside the fish market to the beach. A few sailors were carrying baskets of fishes out of their boats, exchanged a few comment about the weather and wiped away the sweats off their forehead<p>

" Excuse me, do you know anybody name John live here ? " Evan walked to one of the sailors and asked. He looked around " Old John is over there, little lady " And pointed at the old man picking up garbage on the beach while mumbling something.

" Are you John ? " The old man turned around and looked at her, his eyes narrowed " And what if I am ? " He tossed the trashs in the garbage basket and crossed his arms. Evan showed him the voyage log " I was wonder if you wrote this ? "

" Give me that! " He snatched the old note from her hand " Of course I wrote it, and don't you dare question me if I actually saw that dragon! Everything I wrote here is true, now leave me alone! "

" Wait! Do you think you could show me the way to that island ? " Evan plead, crossed her fingers " Get lost! I'm not giving you the map! The Karibbean Triangle is too dangerous, now leave! " John waved his hands, trying to get rid of her.

" Please, you have to understand, this is really important. I have to see that dragon! " Evan avoided being hit by the trash John threw at her. The old man stopped, his eyes blinked a few times " You want to see that dragon ? That monster ? " He seemed to be in deep thought before continued " Fine, I'll give you the map, but you have to find your own way to get to the island. I'm not helping you anymore "

" Thank you! Thank you so much! " The old man took out a piece of old, leather paper from his inner pocket and toosed it to her, acted like it's cursed " Now get lost, brat! "

Evan blinked in confusion and looked at the map: It was a smaller version of South Victoria Island, and there was a few island next to it. She saw the Florida Beach and the island of Rien west Lith Harbot, next to an unknown island. A red bold line was drawn from Lith Harbot, led to the island with an X mark " Slumbering Dragon Island " Evan read the line written across the island " This is it, Mir. We finally got a chance to see another Dragon of your race! "

" Are you planning to walk there ? " She startled and turned around to see the sailor she just talked a few minutes ago. He was looking at the map through her shoulder, commented " You will need a strong boat to get there. Not just any lousy ship made from hard wood, it'll wrecked easily "

" Do you have any suggestion ? " Evan asked

" You need strong material, little lady " He noticed Mir flapping his wings next to her " What about Dragon skin ? You already has a dragon "

Evan quickly grabbed Mir by his legs and pushed him away from the sailor. The Onyx dragon growled, his eyes glowed in a crimson color dangerously " Ok ok, no dragon skin! " The sailor backed away, seeing fire was gathered in Mir's mouth. Mir snarled at him before released the fire on the ground where he was standing. Evan sighed in relief and asked " Do you have anything else in mind ? "

" Well, you could gather scales from drakes. It isn't as strong as dragon's but it will do the job just fine " He scratched his head.

" That'll take too long " Evan noticed some of his scales were about to fall off, raised her hand and pull one out " Does it hurt ? ". Mir looked at the scale and shook his head " Not at all, master ". She gave the sailor the scale.

" Of course! This scale is the perfect material for your boat. Let's go! " He grabbed Evan's wrist and pulled her to a building near the beach...

" One final touch " Evan carefully painted on the white sail with the brush. She got up and took one last look at the symbol on her hand " Yup, look exactly like mine " Evan wiped the sweats off her forehead turned to Mir " I'm done! Pull it up! ". The dragon bit the tough rope and held it in his mouth, his wings flapped as he pulled the white sail up and tied it on the wooden pillar. She gave him a thumb up and pushed the brush back inside the can of golden colored paint " Thank you " She gave the can to Teo – the sailor who had helped her built the boat. He chuckled " Eh, it was nothing. The boat was a beauty itself " He laughed and tapped on the boat. It was made from Mir's scales after his first shedding, glowed dark blue under the sun. Evan has used gold pain to paint the symbol of Onyx dragon on the white sail to mark it. Mir grinned as he flew down beside her " It's beautiful, master "

" C'mon, let's go find the last Onyx dragon! " She rolled her sleeves up and pushed the boat down on the water before hopped on. The waves started pushing it away from Lith Harbot. Took one last look at the small town, Evan sat down on the deck and opened the map " If we take the shortcut, we should be able to reach there in two days ". Mir lay down on his stomach and rested his head on his legs " Wake me up if anything happens " He yawned and fell into a deep sleep...

* * *

><p>" Aran... Aran... " The warrior heard a faint, familiar voice calling out for him. He blinked and small a mass of blue hair in front of him.<p>

" Wake the hell up Aran! " His eyes snapped open and saw Lillin – his great granddaughter was looking at him, her ocean blue eyes was teary. Aran was fully awoke when she grabbed his arms and shook him a few times " Listen up you old man! You don't die on me and you are not allowed to die before you defeat Black Mage, get it ? " Lillin yelled

" G-got it... " Aran coughed weakly as he sat up. The blue haired girl stood up and hit him on the head " That's for being a total hot headed and ran off to battle when you're injured! If the fairies didn't found you, you could die! "

" Sorry Lillin " He chuckled. Lillin crossed her arms and let out a small sigh " Eat up. You need your rest " She pushed a tray pull of food at him. Aran silently picked up an apple and took one small bite " Want some ? " He waved the fruit teasingly in front of her and grinned " I can't help it, my great grandfather is an idiot " Lillin can't help but grinned as well " But next time I'll eat your head if you act reckless again, understand ? "

" Yes ma'am " Aran gulped, knowing Lillin wasn't the person who give ilde threat. Gave him a light hit on the shoulder, she said " You'll have to train harder from now on. Now shut up and eat! "

* * *

><p>Shin pulled out a steely and started playing with it. He hasn't been given any quest lately and he was complete bored with Neinheart's training schedule ( Arggg! I'm gonna go crazy if the Black Wing didn't do anything soon! ) He mentally screamed from the inside and threw the steely at a random direction, scared a few Knight in training " Oops... Sorry... " He got up and started walking back to his own chamber.<p>

" Aran is so lucky. He got to fight the Black Wing more than I do, and he has a hot girl in his arm " The Night Walker sighed " If only I'm the Hero "

Someone suddenly ran past him and hit him by the shoulder " Hey, watch it! " Shin yelled at the person, before he realized it was a girl with brown hair, wore casual clothes. She turned around, her green eyes were locked to his for a second before she ran off to the Training field " Must be another new recruit " Shin got up and dusted off his black pant

" Intruder! We have an intruder! " Neinheart's voice from the megaphone startled him " About time! Woot! " He pummed his pist up in the air and ran back to the Empress's garden. He saw the Knights was gathering in the main hall, and the five Chief Knights were by Empress's side. Neinheart - the royal advisor was arguing with another knight " What seems to be the problem, empress Cygnus ? " Shin bowed down to the golden haired young Empress, who was sitting on a bench next to Shinsoo - the guardian of Evere

" Shin... It's a pleasure to see you " Cygnus got up on her feet " But I just receive words from Dunamis that a Black Wing's member name Baroq has entered the Holy island and stole one of our treasure. We must not let this thief escape with the treasure "

" Empress, we must send people to find the thief right now. We can't let another moment pass without doing nothing " Neinheart insisted " Chief Knights, gather your troop and started looking for the thief! Search the whole island if you may. As for the other Knights, keep your eyes wide open for anything unusual "

" Neinheart, one question " Shin walked to him " Did we have any new recruit lately ? "

" No, we haven't have any new knight this month. Why do you ask ? " He looked at the scroll in his hand and shook his head. Shin widen his eyes when he remember the girl he bumped into earlier " I think I know where the thief is " He ran off, clenched his hand into a fist. Shin let the mana flowed to his feet, ran faster through the main hall, pushing a few people out of his way. As his eyes caught the sight of the strange girl at the sky perry, he pulled out three of steelies and threw at her, shouted " Don't let her get away! She's the thief! "

" Ooh, finally someone smart enough to figured it out " She giggled, her voice was sickly sweet to him. Shin widen his eyes when he saw " that girl " began to transform into a man in dark blue cloak, holding a light blue gem in his hand " Give it back! " The Night Walker shouted, only to be laughed at " Give it back ? That's all you can say little boy ? " Baroq threw his head back and laughed again, held the gem tight in his hand. Shin secretly pulled out a small smoke bomb and tossed it underneath the thief as he was laughing still. The bomb exploded, covered the area with purple smoke and made Baroq unable to see " You dirty little brat! Come out and fight like a man! " He roared, pulled out a thin sword and started swinging it.

" Too bad, we Night Walker love to fight dirty. Vampire embrace " Shin pulled out several steelies and let his mana flow into them, turned them into bats. With one swift movement, he threw them at Baroq and smirked when the bat started biting every inches of skin they could found on the thief. He growled, swung the sword and cut them apart before he broke into a run " Oh no you don't! " The Night Walker took off, gathered mana in his feet and pushed himself to land in front of Baroq. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched him squarely in the jaw, knocked him off his feet " I always prefer to end a battle the old fashion way. Now hand it over " Shin grabbed the collar of his cloak and pulled Baroq up

" Like hell I would " He raised his sword and pressed on Shin's neck " Now be a good boy and let me go "

It was long, painful minute passed as the two stared at each other's eyes before someone put a hand on Shin's shoulder " No need for it, Shin. We got it cover " He turned around and saw the Chief Night Walker with the Chief Blaze Wizard " We'll take it from her "

" Okie " He reply with a dorky grin on his face before threw Baroq on the ground and walked away, whistling loudy

* * *

><p>A loud thud woke Evan up as the boat hit on something. She rubbed her eyes and saw the island covered in snow she was looking for. Evan turned around and gently shook Mir " We're here... " She whispered, got up and dropped the anchor into the water. Grabbed the coat, she leaned on Mir and jumped off the boat.<p>

The island was covered in snow, and there were animal's skeletons everywhere. The island was completely quiet, Evan didn't hear anything beside the wave hitting the island. She put on the coat and motioned Mir to follow her. The Onyx dragon looked around and saw the skeletons looked somewhat familiar, tugged on Evan's shirt " Master, is that... a dragon's skeleton ? "

The dragon master turned around, walked to a certion skull and started wiping away the snow on it. Evan gasped when she saw the familiar symbol on the forehead " So... it's true... " She backed away, looked at the rest of the skeletons around the island " This must be where the Onyx dragon... " A single teardrop ran down from her eye, on her cheek and dripped down on the ground

Evan felt a soft thump inside her, it felt like a heartbeat " Did you hear that ? " She placed a hand on her chest, where her heart is " Yes, I can felt it too master! " Mir nodded and looked at the mountain inland " It comes from over there! ". Evan pulled her wand off and started running to the centre of the island. The dragon master stopped in front of the entrance of the cave, just like how it was written in John's voyage log " This is it! Are you excited to see another one of your kind, Mir ? " Mir nodded, a grinned appeared on his face. Evan touched his back and walked inside...

The cave was small, no doubt. Evan saw a small altar was set at the back of the cave, with a purple crystal ball on a thick pillow and two candles next to it. She looked around, her eyes scanned the entire cave to find there was no dragon inside " He lied... ? " Evan questioned herself, disappointed and angry at herself. She walked to the altar and examine the crystal ball, turned it over...

" ...master ? " Mir gasped. Evan looked at him and saw him pointing at something above her. She looked up and was shocked when she saw a giant Dragon lying in the other side of the cave, behind the ice wall. Evan was speechless, the dragon was excatly like the one she saw in the dream, but it was injured. Evan got up and touched the ice wall, trying to pushed it. After a while, she growled and tossed the wand away, started punching it with her hands. Mir widen his eyes in horror as blood dripping down from his master's knuckles, flew to her " Master, don't! "

" We're so close... Yet so far... " Evan sobbed, leaned her forehead against the wall " I'm sorry Mir... I'm so sorry "

They didn't noticed the dragon's eyes was opened, it's golden eyes were watching them. The old Onyx dragon then whispered " Mirage... "

* * *

><p><strong>AN : Edited. So yeah, Evan and Mir found Afrien - Onyx dragon king**

**I still have one OC left and she will appeared in the next chapter. Hint hint, no MS story is complete without a healer, right ? And she is a priestess, that's all I can say for now.**

**And yes, Teleport can split people into half if they do not focus enough. That's why it cost more MP at first and only tele in short distance**

**R and R , I'll update soon  
><strong>


	7. The second mission

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia : 15 years old**

**Chapter 7 : The second mission**

" Evan honey! " Anna dropped the watering can and hugged her, almost squeezing Evan to death. " Oh, I miss you so much honey. How have you been ? " She cupped her cheek and looked at her from head to toe " Get inside, I'll fix you a nice, hot meal ". And before Evan could say anything, she was pushed into the kitchen. " Mom, I'm fine really. You don't have to... " She scratched her head nervously as Anna was about to take a turkey out from the fridge.

" None sense, you haven't had a home cook meal for like five months already. The least I can do is feed you " She turned on the oven. Evan sighed, turned around and saw her father walked in Utah. " What are you doing here, brat ? " He was surprised when he saw his little sister sitting in the kitchen. Evan's widen when she saw Camilia wrapped her arms around Utah and kissed him on the cheek. " Cammie ? You and my brother ? " She covered her mouth and felt something coming up from her stomach before running straight into the bathroom " That's just gross! ". Utah clenched his hand into a fist, was about to hit her on the head before Mir flew to him and growled.

" Wow, that dragon of yours is so big Evan " Gustav lit a cigarette and held it between his teeth, put his legs on the table. " So, how's the adventure life to you, honey " He asked, inhaled deeply and breathed out white smoke. Anna hit his legs away and put on the table and put the food on. " You know, today one place, tomorrow another " She took one sip from her glass " I don't want to act like a spoiled brat because I left home ". Anna cleaned her hands and sat down next to her, rubbed Evan's head " Don't worry honey, it's your decision and we respected it. Just promise to visit us more often, ok ? ". She nodded, clenched her hands on her thighs, tried to stop the hot tears coming out from her eyes. " Dig in everyone! " Her mother clapped her hands together.

" You know, your great grandfather is a magician too, Evan " Gustav gave Mir another steak and nodded " I was told that he was a great magician "

" Really ? " She put the glass of milk on the floor next to Mir " I never heard about him "

" The true is, he went missing after a war in Leafre. The only things he left for our family is his magician robe and head band " Anna passed her another plate of food " I already fixed it into your size so you could wear it on your journey, honey ". She got up, opened the closet and pulled out a purple sleeveless overall with golden outlined, gave it to her. " Mom... I don't know what to say... " Evan felt her mouth went dry as she held the overall tight in her arms, tears threatened to come out from her eyes again. Anna saw that, gently patted her head and smiled " Honey, we raised you well enough to make your own decision. Don't let anything burden it "

" Thanks mom... " Evan whispered and hugged the clothes in her arm...

* * *

><p>" Final charge! " Aran charged forward and unleashed his mana at the wooden target, knocked it away from him. He raised the polearm and swung it into a huge arch, let the weapon embedded into the ground, created a thundering sound and send the target flying. The penguins nearby were startled at the sound, turned around and saw the wooden board hit the ground, broke into pieces. Aran let out a long sigh and let go of his polearm, collapsed on the ground...<p>

" Get up Aran! Your 10 hours of training isn't over yet! " He heard Lillin was yelling at him, but didn't bother getting up. His entire body was sore from training non stop for the last 8 hours when his shoulder isn't fully healed yet. Aran's breathe was raging as he turned his head to see Lillin was pouting at him. " Give me one good reason why I shouldn't eat your head right now Aran " She crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed, her long, sky blue hair brushed on his face. Her eyes suddenly widen when he grabbed her wrist and pulled Lillin down, her face buried in the crook of his neck. " You talk too much, Lillin " He laughed when Lillin's cheeks turned into several shade of red. " F-fine, your training is done for today. N-now let go! " She shouted, her face couldn't get any redder as she pushed herself and got up.

Aran got up and sat on the ground, curiously watched Lillin stormed out of the training ground, her now messy hair swayed in the wind. He laughed, carelessy ran his fingers through his hair as the blue haired girl tripped over a baby penguins. She quickly got up and apologized to the little animal before it started crying out loud

Aran blinked when a flash of bright green came across his mind. ( Great, my mind is playing with me... ) He shook his head as another flash image appeared.

" It's a signal, maybe it's trying to tell you something " Maha – who was floating beside him, said. Aran closed his eyes and sighed, letting his muscles relaxed

Aran saw himself in a strange town with colorful building and a huge clock tower. Some of the houses around him was destroyed, bricks was everywhere on the ground when he was standing. He turned around and saw someone has her back faced him, blood mixed with dirt stained all over her clothes and hair. She suddenly collapsed, in front of her was...

" Hiver! " Aran growled at the sight of the Black Wing member. He was holding a long sword with blood dripping down on the blade. Hiver chuckled and swung the sword, aimed for Aran's head

" You're too weak... You couldn't never stop us, Aran... "

* * *

><p>" Aran... Aran... " Aran was pulled back in relative when someone slapped him on the cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Tru was looking at him with concern " Are you ok ? You seem sick for a moment " He shook his head and stood up, started dusting his clothes, Hiver's sinister laugh still haunted his mind. " Tru, why are you here ? You suppose to stay in Lith Harbot " He asked the information dealer, hoping it had nothing to do with Lillin.<p>

" You got visitors " Tru pointed at the two people standing a few miles away from the entrance. He narrowed his eyes, noticed those two people was very familiar to him...

" Mohawk! " Cecelia squealed out and jumped on him, snuggled her head on his chest. " Cecelia, stop acting like a child. We're here for business! " Bahamut roughly pulled her away from Aran by the arm and gave him a deep bow " I'm very sorry about Cecelia ". The pink haired girl turned to him and gave the raven haired a good hard kick, stuck her tongue out. Aran laughed nervously and got up, dusting his clothes " It's fine, no need to apologize ". Tru rolled his eyes and started walking away, giving the three of them some space.

" Aran, do you mind go for a walk with us ? Somewhere private ? " Bahamut cleared his throat, his tone was serious and there seemed to have a hint of worry. " Sure, I guess " The warrior picked up his polearm and led the way out of the training ground, walked deep inside the island. The forest was getting more quiet as they walked farther away from the village, and closer to the crystal cave where Aran was first found. " So, you want to talk to me ? "

" Yes " He leaned against a wall " Do you remember what we told you in Orbis ? About our mistress ? ". Aran nodded, but he still didn't have a clue what they are trying to tell him. " We... recently found out where she's at "

" And you want me to come along ? ". Bahamut chuckled " Thank you, the great Ovious Hero from the past. So, are you in ? "

" Depend " Aran scratched his head, curious about this mistress Bahamut mentioned " Tell me about her "

* * *

><p>" I am so full~~~~~~~~ " Mir yawned and lazily curled on Evan's bed, his eyes half lidded. Evan tossed her dirty clothes in the basket and grabbed her night gown to put it on " Well, you did eat everything Mom cooked for the entire family ". Mir stuck his tongue out playfully and watched his master changed clothes. At first, Evan wasn't comfortable with Mir around her whenever she took a bath or changing clothes, but after a first few times bathing together, she let it slide and didn't mind anymore. Evan sat down on the bed and leaned on Mir's back, since he was nearly as big as her bed and she couldn't fit in. " I can sleep on the floor " He offered, crawled out of the bed, but Evan shook her head.<p>

" Evan, you have guest " She walked to the door and opened it to find her mother outside with a really familiar boy in a green cloak. " Francis! " Evan smiled and picked him up in her arms. Anna chuckled as she watched the little boy clutched onto her dress and rested his head on Evan's shoulder " Honey, I can't wait to see you with my grandchildren ".

" Mom! " She blushed madly and yelled as her mother laughed and left the room. Francis tugged on her dress and looked at her " Evan, my parents isn't home today. Can I stay with you ? ".

" Of course " She patted his head and put him down on the bed " You can sleep on the bed. Me and Mir can sleep on the floor ". He nodded, his dull green eyes focused at the Onyx dragon. " Evan, my dad told me to give you this " The green haired boy jumped off the bed and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to her.

Meet Shammos in El Nath, then go to Korean Folk Town

( Weird... ) Evan read through the paper again but found nothing unusual except the request itself. ( What's so important that he make me go to El Nath ? ) Evan put the paper down on the table and turned around. " C'mon Francis, let's get you to bed. It's late " She walked him to the bed and tucked Francis in. Gave him one of her favorite stuffed animals, Evan kissed him on the forehead before lied down next to Mir. " I want a good night kiss too, master " The Onyx dragon pouted at her, which made Evan laughed. She kissed Mir on the nose and whispered " Good night Mir, good night Francis "

* * *

><p>As the dragon master fell into a deep sleep, she didn't notice the piece of paper started burning and became ashes in mere seconds...<p>

" Used this if anything happened and you need to get back to Rien fast, ok ? " Lillin kissed both of his cheek after she gave him a scroll that could get him back to Rien. He patted her head and hopped on the ship that lead to Lith Harbot, where Bahamut and Cecelia were already inside. The sailor pulled the anchor up and the ship started moving south, passing the ice block floating on the sea. Bahamut crossed his arms and leaned against a chest, he seemed to be in a deep thought before he spoke, low enough so the sailor couldn't hear :

" How much do you know about the half blood people ? "

" Um... I know Athena, she is half elf " Aran sat down beside him, tried to read his face " What's about them ? "

" Half blood people look like human, but they have power. Power comes from the half blood, in Athena's case, she has the elf power " Bahamut nodded " My mistress is a half blood too, a half dragon "

" Wait, what ? " The warrior repeated " Half dragon ? How's it possible ? I've heard of half elf, half fairy even half demon, but never heard of a half dragon ". The raven haired nodded again " That's correct. Elf, fairy and even demon can mate with human and give birth to a child, since their blood mixed well with human's blood. But dragon's blood is too strong, too powerful for any adult human too handle, so a child with dragon blood has a low chance to survive. ". " Then how ... ? " Bahamut raised a hand to hush him, before he continued

" The chance for a half dragon child to live is extremely low, but that doesn't mean no one made it yet. Long ago, my master – Nine Spirit dragon had done a lot of research on why a half dragon cannot live and he came to a theory : If the woman who give birth the child is as powerful as a dragon, then the child may have a higher chance to live. With that theory, he had left to search for a powerful human to mate. That human happened to be the first priest who ever reached to heaven and became a Goddess "

Cecelia was quiet the whole time, scratching the back of Werewolf's ear while listening to Bahamut. She let out a small sighed and secretly wiped away a teardrop on her eyes. " That woman gave birth to an egg after 9 months like a normal human give birth a child, and that egg hatched after 50 years, not 100 years like normal dragon eggs. A little girl was hatched from that egg, with human figure and dragon power. Her father named her Crystal, and she truly is one of a kind "

" No longer after she was born, Nine Spirit noticed something wrong with her. Mistress lives, but she was unstable. She was attracting dark energy, because half of her was human, and human has unclean soul. For the dragon's safety, he washed away her memories and sent her to Victoria island to live with other human when she was five "

" But she wasn't accepted there either! " Cecelia hissed, caught their attention. She looked angry and somewhat hurt " She didn't look like normal human and she couldn't fit in. They made fun of her, bullied her for no reason! They even called her the Demoness ". Bahamut had to covered her mouth with one hand to shut the pink haired up " As I was saying, mistress didn't have any friends. Athena and Grendal was the only people who know her well and taught her. She was smart, has talents in magic and she devote a lot of time creating new magic skill for magician. She was known as the youngest magician who ever reached and became a cleric. "

The ship stopped at Lith Harbot with a loud noise and the sailor dropped the anchor down. Aran got up and hopped off the ship, holding his polearm with both of his hand, waiting for Bahamut and Cecelia. " We need to see a man name Manji. He knows a way to get to the Underworld " The raven haired cleared his throat and walked to a cab.

" Wait! The underworld ? Your mistress is there ? " Aran was surprised, He knew about the underworld, but only dead people could go there. " Like I said, she isn't human. Only the underworld could hold mistress in one place without her destroying anything " He chuckled as Cecelia closed the cab door. " To Perion, please " The pink haired girl said to the driver before stuck her head outside the cab and enjoy the wind hitting her face. " How many times do I have to tell you not to stick your head outside a running cab. I swear sooner or later you'll be a headless pirate! " Bahamut grabbed her shirt and pulled Cecelia back in. " I have car sick! " She growled at him and bit his hand, stuck her head out again.

* * *

><p>As the white cab stopped at Perion – a wasteland where not much tree could survive from the burning heat. Aran narrowed his eyes and looked down to avoid the blazing sunlight hitting direct in his face. " There's he is " Cecelia pointed at a man wearing crimson colored robe, holding a silver rapier with one hand and the other hand held the belt around his wrast. " Manji, isn't it ? " Bahamut walked to the man and put one hand on his shoulder. Manji suddenly turned around and swung his sword, left a long cut along Bahamut's arm. " Don't touch me! What do you want ? " He mumbled , holding the sword up, it's blade was only a few inches to Aran's face. " Show us the way to the underworld " The raven haired stated, while Cecelia was holding out his arm and applied some healing oil on the wound.<p>

" No, now leave me alone " Manji spitted at them and about to walk away from them before Bahamut pulled out a small bag filled with golden coins and shook it, letting the sound of the coins hitting each other reached the man's ears " One million mesos, enough ? ". Manji turned around and gave him a weird look " What are you trying to find in the underworld ? It must be something really important that you willing to pay me that amount of money, isn't it ? "

" Correct, now can you show us the way ? " Manji snatched the bag from his hand and walked down the hill. " Hurry up, I'm not waiting for anybody! " They quickly followed him to a rusty gate, far away from where the people live. There were two lion statues standing on each side of the door, each holding a burning torch. Manji pulled out a giant key from the inner of his robe and opened the rusty door. A cold wind was blown out as the door opened in front of them, brought along a heavy scent of musk, which made Aran felt somewhat dizzy. " Listen, Cecelia and Werewolf. You two stay here while Aran and I go in to find her. If we didn't come back in the... "

" No! I'm coming with you! " Cecelia yelled out in protest " She is my mistress as well! ". Bahamut put both of his hands on her shoulders and whispered " If we both die down there, who going to take care of mistress ? That's why I want you to stay here and wait for us to come out "

" Fine, I gave you two hours to get your ass back with mistress. If you take any longer, I swear I'll go down and shot you! " She mumbled and kissed his forehead " And if something wrong with Aran, I'll make you regret "

" Yes, ma'am " He laughed nervously and walked through the gate with Aran next to him...

* * *

><p>" Achoo! " Evan sneezed and trembling, clutched onto her arms in hope to not get any colder than she was. El Nath was certainly not a place for her since she was used to the warm sun everyday in her farm. Evan sneezed again, cursed under her breath for not bringing a coat along. Mir breathed out a small flame on a small tree branch " I could make a bigger fire, but you'll be burned from it ". She gave a weak laugh and held the torch close to her as possible and walked through the entrance of El Nath. It was a little bit warmer as the people was all over the street, buying and selling food, clothes. " I might as well be an ice block before I even found this Shammos person at this rate " Evan coughed, her legs started shaking and goose bumps was all over her body. " Master, maybe we should find some place to rest, your skin is so pale " Mir pushed her inside a small pub before Evan passed out from the freezing weather. She sighed in relief as the warmth from the fireplace washed over her body, almost made Evan melted at the spot.<p>

" Do you want a hot cup of cocoa to warm up ? " The owner of the pub – a man with white beard and grey hair walked to her. " Tsk tsk, no one would dress like that in this weather " Evan found herself sat on one of the chair by the counter with a cup of steaming hot cocoa in front of her face. The dragon master carefully hovered her hand over the steam came from the cup to warm her hand before took a sip from the cup. " Wow, this is so good. Try this, Mir " The Onyx dragon sniffed the liquid before he empty the cup with one big gulp and breathed out, licked around the corner of his mouth and looked into the cup again. " One more, please " Evan said to the owner after seeing Mir looked at her with his sparking eyes, he usually used them when he wanted something, mostly food and drink. After the second cup was brought to them, Evan turned her attention to a group of five people wearing similar robe sitting next to her. One of them, a man in black robe spoke lowly:

" The Seal stone was stolen... "

" ... the Nependeath grew huge " The only woman in the group nodded " I have words from the fairy that somehow, the key to the seal stone garden was stolen. The unusual part is I keep the key with me all the time... "

" That's mean... Shammos! " The man growled. Evan turned on her chair and asked " Do you know where Shammos is ? ". They all turned around to face her, they looked completely surprise. " Shammos ? He's in the basement of our house, but I suggest you shouldn't meet him " One of them cleared his throat, curiously watched her reaction. Evan scratched her head nervously, didn't know how to ask them to take her there. The woman with purple robe tapped her finger on the counter " If you really need to see him, I suppose we could let you... Waiter! ". She left some money on the wooden table before got out of the chair " Come with us ".

Evan quickly put some money next to the empty cup and followed them outside the pub, ignored the harsh weather and the freezing feeling on her arms with Mir flying by her side. The group stopped in front of one of the biggest house in El Nath, on top of a small hill and away from town. " Freezing guest first " The woman opened the door and said with a mocking tone, but Evan was too cold to take it, so she walked inside. There was a wooden table in the middle of the room, with five chair around it and a fireplace. It was quite simple, yet the room gave Evan a warm and cozy feeling " Come, I'll show you where Shammos is ".

* * *

><p>One of them, the man with golden robe motioned her to a staircase that lead to the underground level. It was much darker compare to the living room and it smelled like there was something dead down there. Evan narrowed her eyes as she saw a creature walking around in the basement, it was skinny and it's skin was as green as a leaf. The creature had a bold head with a long, pointy nose and wore something like a ragged, dirty shirt. It noticed Evan was standing at the staircase and moved closer, mumbled " There is a human, Shammos don't know who that is... Shammos don't know what she want... ".<p>

( You have gotta be kidding me ) Evan rubbed her forehead " You two have 15 minutes ". She sighed and moved closer to Shammos, carefully fulled her wand out from the inner coat " Shammos... Someone told me to come and meet you "

"Shammos didn't know anybody... Shammos has been lonely it's whole life... " He kicked the chain around his ankle and moved away from her. " His name is Hiver " Shammos turned around as he heard the name, blinked as he slowly recall if he know anybody name Hiver.

" Hiver... Shammos know him... Hiver is a gentle man, he be nice Shammos ... No one ever be nice to Shammos... " He continued mumbling something as he walked to an old, dusty chest at the corner of the and took out a small object inside it. Shammos shoved the object – which Evan realized was a key, into her hand and said " Shammos don't want this... Give this to Hiver... Tell him Shammos said thank you... "

" Okay... I'll... " She put the key inside her bag and slowly walked away, still watching Shammos with curious. He was going back into the corner, the chain around his leg made metal clashing sound as he moved. ( Strange... Why did Hiver want me to meet him ? ) She scratched her head and walked to living room to find it was empty. " Yeah, I don't know how's that creature has something to do with him, master " Mir agreed. Evan saw a long coat was hanging at the door with a small note on it " There might be a snow storm soon. We suggest you leave now, take the coat with incase ".

* * *

><p>" How long have we been walking ? " Aran asked as they turned to another stair that led down. He noticed the deeper they walked, the colder it got and the stair seemed to never reach an end. " Stop... " Bahamut raised his hand and tossed the torch he was holding away, made everything around them turned into pitch black. The raven haired pressed Aran against a wall and whispered " Try not to make any noise ". He nodded and covered his mouth, trying to see through the darkness to find anything around.<p>

A creature with two golden horns on top of it's head was moving toward to where they were standing. It's huge spear glowed in the darkness, provided it with the dull light as it moved. Aran felt his heart speeded up as it was getting closer and closer to them...

The sound of metal clashing into each other got the creature's attention and it turned around, walking away from them. Both of them let out a relief sigh as they no longer felt the beast's heavy footstep. " Quickly, this way before it come back " Bahamut led the way down to a hall with armors on both side, holding torches burning with black fire. " Bahamut, it's a dead end " Aran walked to a wall at the end of the hall and put one of his hand on it, felt the coldness on each bricks.

" Stay back " He warned as he took out a small bomb from the bag. " It better work, Cecelia " Snapped his finger, Bahamut lit it and aimed at the wall. Aran barely got the chance to cover his head before the bomb hit the wall and exploded, destroyed the wall into thousand piece of rock. Both of them heard a loud roar coming from the staircase, and realized there were more than on beast they saw. " Shit, come on! " Aran pulled his polearm from the leather strap and gripped it in his hands. " This should be fun " Maha popped out of nowhere and commented about the situation they were in, which Aran found wasn't fun at all.

" Listen, if anything went wrong I want you to get mistress out of here. I'll buy you as much time as I can " The raven haired shouted at him as they ran into a dark cavern. There was a skeleton of a huge creature with four horns died there, with chains from the ceiling tied around it's body. " Must be hers " Bahamut said to himself, his eyes wandering around the cave trying to find some sort of a sign, a clue where Crystal was. As he expected, there was an ice coffin in front of the skull of the unknown creature, filled with black roses inside.

" Mistress! " Aran turned around and saw Bahamut running toward a coffin, quickly followed him. The silver haired widen his eyes, inside the clear crystal like ice coffin, there was a breath taking beautiful young girl lying there. Her skin looked so pale, but at the same time she looked so full of life and her hair was pitch black like Bahamut's, but Aran kept having the feeling it sometimes glowed blue. She can't be older than Cecelia in his opinion, around 15, 16 the most since her face still have some of the baby fat. She was wearing a priest like dress with golden outlines and two fake wings behind her ear as the decorations. " Help me lift this " Bahamut pulled him back into his senses. Aran put down his polearm and helped him lifted the lid of the coffin up before dropped it on the ground.

Bahamut lifted the girl up in his arms bridal style and silently tell Aran to start moving, didn't realize a pair of eyes was watching them. " It seems unusual quiet, I thought there might be a least two or three beast waiting for us to come out " The raven haired slowed down, gently gripped on the girl in his arms " Something isn't right... "

* * *

><p>" I must say, you two are smart, human " A slow, deep voice came from behind sent chill to their body. They slowly turned around and saw a balrog, but it was much bigger than the Crimson balrog they've fought before. This one has chains around it's wrist and ankles, forced it to crawl from the cavern out, and there were several seal on it's body. " If I was you, I'd put the human girl back inside the coffin " It chuckled " And then maybe, the great Balrog king will spares your pathetic human lifes ".<p>

" Like hell we will " Bahamut hissed, which made Balrog king laughed. " You see this ? You see those chains and seals around me ? It's a miracle that she didn't get killed yet " The beast reached out and grabbed Bahamut's cloak with the tip of it's claws " You know what they say, short stuff. Smart one dies first ". Bahamut quickly wrapped his arms around the girl's and pulled away, his eyes began to glow bright white. " Get her out of here! Run! " He roughly pushed the girl into Aran's arms and charged at the beast. The silver haired warrior had no choice but to carried the girl and ran to the stair. " After him! " He heard king balrog shouted, and soon the hall was filled with heavy footstep. Aran tried to swing his polearm with one hand and attacked those beast behind him.

One of the Taurospear managed to make Aran tripped over by throwing an armor in front of him. Aran felt flat on his stomach, his bag was thrown across the hall while the girl was thrown a few feet away from him. The Taurospear that made him tripped grabbed Aran by his shirt and brought him to it's face. The other started growling at him, as if they was arguing or something. The warrior looked hopelessly at the girl lying there, prayed she would wake up and run away from here.

Inside Aran's bag, some of the potion bottle fell out and broke as they hit the hard ground, and the liquid inside splashed into every directions. Some of it hit the girl's cheeks and forehead, and her eyelids started opened. The group of beast stopped growled at each other and turned their attention to the girl as she raised one hand and touched her cheek. " Run away from here! " Aran shouted at the girl, but she seemed not to hear him as she slowly got up on her feet...

* * *

><p>" Put the human down " Her voice were merely a whisper to Aran, but the beasts were shaking from it.. He was put back down on his feet with caution as the beast slowly eyed the girl. " Now run along, I'm not in a good mood right now ". They growled at each other and fled away from her. Aran carefully picked up his polearm, watched the girl as she turned around and walked to him. The first thing her noticed about her is her eyes, they were the strangest eyes he had ever seen, her eyes were pearl pink, almost milky white if he didn't look close enough. She looked completely innocent when her big, round eyes were half lidded behind those long, natural curved lashes, but Aran saw something dangerous was hidden inside those innocent eyes. " Are you done staring, human ? Or do you want that cut on your forehead kill you ? " She tilted her head on one side and asked, which made Aran startled and put his hand on his forehead. Warm blood leaked down on to his hand and dripped on the ground. Crystal let out a soft laugh, grabbed his chin and pulled him close to her face before licked the wound on his forehead. The warrior's eyes widen as he felt the warm tongue moved on his skin and licked away the blood. The wound started knitting back together, left a thin scar on his forehead as Crystal moved away. " Tasty blood " She wiped the corner of her mouth and started walking back down the hall.<p>

" Wait, you can't go back there! Bahamut told me to get you out of here safety " Aran grabbed her wrist and going pulled her to the stair. " Did Bahamut also tell you that I do thing my way ? " Surprisingly, Crystal somehow managed to stay in the same spot even when Aran used every bit of his strength to try and drag her and ended up being pulled back to the cavern.

Bahamut was drained, he was no match for King Balrog, the king beast tricked him to destroyed two of the chains that held it and stabbed him in the stomach with it's claws. The raven haired began to feel dizzy, his vision became blurry as he backed away from king balrog. " Look like you can't entertain me any longer. Might as well finish this so I can get the girl " A bright white arrow suddenly flew out of nowhere and struck through the palm of it hand, made it hissed because of the pain. " Maybe I can entertain you for a change, Balrog " Crystal threw another arrow with her bare hand, this one struck through it left eye. King Balrog roared loudly, started swinging it's claws aimlessly but didn't hit her. " Mistress... Why are you here ?... " Bahamut covered his stomach and slowly moved to her, leaned his head on her shoulder. " If I didn't come and get you, Cecelia will. Get him out of here, human " She turned to Aran. As the two walked away from her, Crystal turned her attention to king Balrog, who was still cursing and trying to attack her with it's claw.

" Let get this over with " The priestess raised her arm and started drawing a circle in mid air. As her hand moved, a golden color ring appeared and glowed in the darkness. " Fire, water, wind, light, darkness. Wake up at my command "

Five fireballs, each one has it own color behind Crystal and floated around king Balrog. Before it could react, those fireballs started spinning around it, created a dimension door underneath the beast, sucked it inside and disappeared...

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><p><strong>An : I broke the record!**

**Sorry about the delay, readers. This is one of a hell month to me, I've could it update sooner if it wasn't for the so call family vacation. And my keyboard screwed up badly, caps where it shouldn't be caps.**

**Read and review. Thank you**


	8. Protect Ludibrium ?

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia : 15 years old**

**Crystal R. Crawfold : !8 years old**

**Chapter 8 : Protect Ludibrium ?**

" Mistress, mistress, mistress, mistress! " Cecelia jumped up and down while holding onto Crystal's shoulders, before she wrapped her tiny arms around Crystal's neck and... kissed her on the lips. Bahamut quickly looked away while Aran widen his eyes at the scene, felt his pant became tight as he watched two girl kissing each other ( Actually only Cecelia was into the kiss, Crystal seemed completely careless as her eyes were opened ). The silver haired forced his head to turn to another direction and notice Bahamut was blushing as well, trying to block the image out of his head. " Are they always like this ? " He asked to earn a nod from the raven haired. " Cecelia, enough " The priestess broke the kiss and started walking down the mountain.

" Hurry up, she won't wait for anyone " Bahamut quickly grabbed his and Cecelia's belonging, chased after the priestess " Mistress, wait! Where are you going ? ".

" Back to Leafre, where else ? " She replied, kept on walking toward the forest of Ellina. " The forest is taken over by the Dark Wyvern " He simply stated, and the raven haired girl stopped. Crystal seemed to be in a deep thought before she laughed " So ? ", before continue walking into the forest. Aran could've swore he saw her entire body glowed silver as they entered the huge forest, the weak light reflected as it touched her skin.

" Mistress, I know you're strong. But you can't face Horned-tail minions by yourself " Bahamut put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back into his arms. She let out a soft sigh and turned around, her pearl colored eyes became stern as she looked direct into Bahamut's. He opened his mouth and about to say something, but stopped as he saw a hint of danger in her eyes " Do as you wish, mistress ", he said bitterly. Crystal's eyes softened, she started removing the pure diamond earring and handed to him " Enough to buy one of those human house ? ", she chuckled.

" Why don't you three come and live in Rien ? " Those words slipped out of Aran's mouth before he could think it over. They both looked at him as if he just said something crazy, and he quickly cover his mouth. " That's a great idea. What do you think ?" Cecelia walked to him, patted on his shoulder. " Lillin won't mind, since we are the only residents in Rien " Aran scratched his head nervously. " Sure, why not ? " Crystal smiled, brushed Bahamut's hand off her shoulders. She then noticed a small bird nest rested on a small branch close to the ground, inside was a little bird. The small bird shivered at the sight of her as she gently scooped it in the palm of her hand, it's feathers started falling apart. " Don't be scare " Crystal whispered, brought it close to her face and slowly blew air to it's face. The small creature's head twitched in a confuse way as it's feathers grew back, before it started chirping happily. " Better ? " The bird chirped loudly and nuzzled it's beak between her lips before it flew away.

" What was that ? " Aran was amazed at what she just did. " I'm a priestess, it's my job to bring life and hope to others " She watched the bird flew through the forest and answered " Now where's this Rien island ? "

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><p>" W-where am I ? " Mir found himself floating in the middle of a burning forest, dead animals was all around him. " Master! " He called out, panicked when he didn't get any reply. Mir started flying through the burning forest, his eyes opened wide in hope to find even a smallest sight of his master, until...<p>

" Master! " Mir yelled out as he saw Evan lying on a pool of blood, her own blood, with a huge wound go through her stomach. Her green eyes was dull and lifeless as Evan's head was forcefully turned to one side, blood dripping down from the corner of her lips. " Master! What happened to you ? Master! " Mir cried out and flew to her side. The dragon master coughed weakly, tried to touch his head " Mir... R-run... Or he'll k-kill y-you-u-u... ", before her arms fell down. " Who will kill me ? Master, don't leave me! " He started weeping loudly and shook Evan's dead body. Mir didn't noticed there was someone standing a feet away from them.

" That wrench doesn't deserve to be the Dragon master " He chuckled, walked toward to Mir. " W-who are you ? " He slowly backed away, pulling Evan's body with him. " Join me, Mir. And I'll make you stronger beyond your dream " The strange man stopped in front of Mir, offered a hand.

" No, stay away! I'll not listen to you, you killer! " Mir growled, charged at the man...

Mir stirred and rolled over, pushed Evan off the bed and have her fell flat on her stomach. " Ouch... " The brunette groaned and got up, rubbing her forehead " Mir, why did you push me ? ". The onyx dragon sweated-dropped as his master sat down on the edge of the bed. " Oh wow, you're as big as a double bed, Mir. I guess I couldn't help it " She yawned and looked at the table clock. ( 5 am ) Evan thought as she ran her finger through her hair. ( I wonder what's Aran doing right now ? ) She blushed at the thought and quickly got out of bed. The fairy in Orbis had kindly let her stay in one of their house for the night, since she missed the train to Ludibrium last night. Evan brushed her hair carelessly before grabbed her bag along the coat " Let's go Mir ".

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><p>" All abroad! " The colorful train started moving from Orbis's station on the colorful rail-track with dozens of travelers sitting on almost every seats, talking and showing off their weapons to their friends. Evan sat down on a chair at the corner of the train, Mir lying next to her feet. She watched the train running through the sky, white fluffy clouds gently flew past her as the train speeded up, making it's way to Ludibrium. " Excuse me, is this seat taken ? " Evan startled and looked up to see a guys with blond hair standing in front of her. " No, go ahead " He smiled and sat down on the empty seat opposite of Evan's, one of his long bang fell from behind his ear and covered one of his purple eyes. " Hi, my name is Shin Yoshida, but you can call me Shin " He offered his hand with a stupid looking grin on his face, which made him looked somewhat dorky. " Nice to meet you, Shin. I'm Evan " She smiled and shook his hand, noticed a symbol of a star on the back of his hand.<p>

" Are you... a Knight of Cygnus ? " Shin was taken back for a second, but he still smile and nodded. " Cool, I never met a Cygnus's knight before. Nor Cygnus herself " Evan was impressed. She has learnt about Cygnus in her history class at the academy located in Henesys and knew she was the great Empress of Maple world, one of the five most beautiful girl and lives in a holy island called Evere. " Other people would never interested in the Cygnus's knight before " He grinned and took out a small book with golden outline from his bag " Don't tell anyone I showed you this. It's top secret ".

He opened the book to reveal a picture of a little girl, no more than 10 year old, with golden wavy hair that reached the ground. Her eyes was a deep, ocean blue color, seemed like they were sparking even in the picture, and her lips was curled into a small smile. She was, indeed, very beautiful in Evan's opinion. " That's empress Cygnus. The creature behind her is Shinsoo, the Holy guardian of Evere and he is Cygnus's pet " Shin pointed at the creature with white feathers behind Cygnus, looked like a bird with a silver tiara on it's head. Turned to the next page, Evan saw another picture with a group of six people standing next to each other in front of a waterfall. " This is the five chief knights of Evere and the royal adviser, Neinheart " Shin pointed at the man with light blue hair on the left, wearing a white robe and held a book close to his chest.

" Who are the other ? " Evan looked at the chief knights. They were all wearing armor and holding weapon, just like the other adventurers she saw before, but next to them was five flame-like creature floating by their side, each has unique color and shape. " Oh, they are Cygnus's first five knights. From left to right, their name is Mihile, Oz, Hawkeye, Eckhart and Irena. They are really really strong, but some of them don't get along at all " He pointed at the man wearing a mask in the picture " Eckhart is my teacher, he and Hawkeye always fight because of everything ".

" I wish I could visit Evere once " Evan sighed, noticed the train had stopped at Ludibrium's station. " Of course you can, I'll go back to Evere and ask for Cygnus's permission so you could come and visit me! " Shin hugged her, which made Evan blushed. " Oops, sorry " He laughed nervously and let her go, a hint of red appeared on his cheek. " I-I should go... I s-suppose to meet someone... " Evan trailed off, her face couldn't get any redder as she walked pass Shin with Mir flying by her side.

Both Shin and Evan didn't notice there was someone watching them from the moment they stepped foot out of the station...

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><p>" Of course you can stay " Lillin smiled as she poured the herb tea into all five cup on the table " Lucky that I decided to build a big house when I moved here, so there are plenty of rooms for all of you ". Crystal took a small sip from the cup and nodded " That's very kind of you to offer us a place to stay until I can find a new place ". She caught Aran staring at her and smirked " And I think someone enjoy it ".<p>

" I'll... um... show you your room " Aran blushed and looked away, trying to change the subject. Suddenly, the front door swung opened, and Tru ran inside, his face was pale as if something wrong just happened. " I just got words! The Black Wing is aiming for Ludibrium's seal stone! ". Everybody except Crystal gasped, they was taken back with the horrible news. " Bullshit! I'll never get there in time! " Aran cursed and grabbed his polearm, shoved Tru away from the door and about to run off before Bahamut stopped him. " What are you doing ? I need to stop the Black wing from stealing the seal stone! " The warrior pushed Bahamut away and headed toward the wooden door and pushed it open. He widen his eyes when behind the door wasn't the familiar scene of Rien anymore, instead, behind it was a colorful city with a giant clock tower just a few miles from the door. " What the ? " Aran surprised, turned around and noticed outside the window still remained the same " How... ? ".

He saw Crystal was sipping tea, looked carelessly as if what just happened was a normal thing to her. " Thanks Crystal, I own you one " He smiled and ran off, and the sight of Ludibrium quickly vanished...

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><p>" Master, where are we going ? " Mir tugged on her coat as they walked to a huge clock tower. " I think we are lost... " Evan sweat dropped and looked around, hoping there was a sign or a map to show her which way to Korean folk town. " And here is the great Clock tower of Ludibrium, where rumored to be a hideout of a monster that control time and space " The loud voice coming from a microphone of a tour guide snapped her out of her thought. A group of tourist started pushing and shoving, trying to get through a small door to the clock tower, pulled Evan with them. " Hey... Hey! Wait, I'm not tourist " Evan tried to get out but eventually got shoved to a toy factory inside the clock tower, Mir quickly bit and held her bag between his teeth, pulled Evan out of the crowd. " Thank Mir... " Evan got up on her feet and dusted her clothes.<p>

Evan noticed an opened door behind a wrapping machine, with some purple light coming from inside. ( What's the light ? ) Evan walked through and found herself inside the clock with thousand of different size cogs running at the same time. The purple light seemed to shine from a small room in the middle of the clock, inviting Evan. She rubbed her eyes a few times and blinked, found the strange light very attractive as she walked on a narrowed bridge hanging from the ceiling. Evan found the door to the small room was locked.

The key...

She gasped and turned around, saw nothing but Mir floating behind her ( Where's that voice come from ? ). Her pocket suddenly became heavier than usual, made Evan startled and put her hand inside the pocket to find the cold metal key at the bottom. " This key is to open this door ? " Evan took it out and stared at the door. Sweats formed on her forehead as she slowly unlocked the door and pushed it open. Behind it was a small purple stone floating, it's light shone brightly as it floated in mid air, giving Evan a warm feeling.

Take it...

The small voice echoed again, and the brunette carefully raised her hand and touched the beautiful stone with the tip of her fingers...

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><p>Aran rushed through the crowd, roughly shoved anybody in his path as he ran through the hall lead to the toy factory. The silver haired warrior tried to breath evenly as he stopped in front of a closed door with several machines blocked it, groaned and swung his weapon, released his mana at the blocked door and created a huge hole. He narrowed his eyes as the bright light shone directed to his eyes, but still noticed a small, female figure standing between him and the light before the light disappeared, and every single light bulbs were turned off. The people was working at the factory started screaming and ran off into every directions in the dark, joined with the sound of cog and metal chains stopping at the same time. Aran quickly ran straight through the door, direct to where the light just shone and swung his polearm. He felt himself barely missed that person, before dodged a fireball came from above. ( A magician ? ) Aran though as he felt another series of fireballs was aimed at him, and this time, he blocked it with his polearm and absorb the energy.<p>

" Magic Flare! " A familiar voice shouted, and golden light suddenly wrapped around him, burning his skin. Aran grunted, felt the light burned him down to the bone, raised the polearm high up and gave it a full swing, cut off some chains that held the bridge. He heard a small gasp from that person as she held onto something, before that something rammed into him and threw him into a wall, made it cracked.

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><p>" Show yourself " Evan shouted, tightly gripped on her wand while she held onto Mir with her other hand. The stone inside her pocket bounced as she jumped to avoid the attack, it's warmth slowly faded away every second. She felt her heart beat speeded up as another attack was aimed at her again, quickly lowered her head to avoid it. Evan felt the weapon cut off a lock of her hair before she waved her wand and cast Magic Flare at the person who attacked her. Mir quickly pulled Evan on him and flew off the bridge before that person cut off the chains that held the bridge. " Hang on master " He growled, flapped his wing fast before thrust forward and rammed into that person, threw him against a wall.<p>

The wall slowly cracked, the bricks fell out and the sunlight leaked through the hole. Both Evan and Aran widen their eyes as they saw each other, face to face as they both holding their weapon, ready to attack. " Evan... " He whispered, slowly backed away, surprised and hurt " You... steal the seal stone ? ". Evan's hand touched the stone in her pocket, didn't understand what Aran said. The warrior leaned against the wall and covered his face, mumbled something. " A-aran... " The brunette gulped, felt a dangerous aura around him as she got off Mir to move closer to him, her hand raised high enough to touch his cheek. Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and pinned Evan between him and the wall, shouted " I trusted you! But you're nothing but a liar and a traitor! ".

Evan gasped as she felt his grip tighten around her wrist, his body pressed against her as Aran trapped her between the wall and him. " W-what are you doing ? " She blushed, trying to push him away. Aran let go of his polearm and grabbed her other wrist, pinned both her hands above her head, grabbed her chin with his other hand " Why did you work for the Black wing ? Answer me Evan! "

" I-i don't know what you are talking about... " She was forced to look into his eyes, tears built up at the corner of her eyes. Aran growled and roughly pushed her away, picked up his weapon " Doesn't matter! You are a Black Wing, and I'll treat you like one! ". He charged at her, his entire body glowed light blue as the polearm was raised above her head...

" Dragon thrust! " Mir focused his mana at his head and rammed at Aran, pushing him through the hole on the wall and into a house opposite the clock tower, destroyed half of the house. Aran coughed out blood as Evan ran to Mir's side " Aran, I have no idea what are you talking about. Who is this Black Wing ? "

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><p>" The question is , what is this Black Wing " A familiar voice startled Evan and she turned around to saw Hiver standing a few feet away from her. The purple rest on her pocket suddenly flew out and floated to Hiver's side. " What's the meaning of this ? " She aimed her wand at the black haired man and shouted.<p>

" Easy, I used you to do all the dirty work for us Black wings. Thanks to you little girl, we finally had enough seal stones to revive our master, the Black mage " He laughed and started walking away. Evan felt her blood start boiling as she heard the mocking laugh coming from Hiver, her mana rushed through her body and she chased after him " Die! ". Her wand started shooting out crimson flame wheel at the Black wings member, leaving dark flame burning on the street. The people nearby quickly got out of her way as Evan shot another flame wheel at Hiver, burned down a car. Cursing under his breath, Hiver pulled out a small sparking rock and threw it on the ground, a wooden frame door appeared with blue portal swirling in it.

" Get back here! " Evan cried out as her ran through the door and disappeared, noticed the door starting to fade away. She pushed herself and ran faster, got through the door a moment before it completely faded away...

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><p><strong>An : This chapter is kind of short, but hey, Evan and Aran fight each other! When I play Ms on both my Evan and Aran, I always wonder why they never cross path, not even one. So I decided that they should, atleast in my fanfic. I've been planning for this scene since like... forever.**

**Also, one small change. I decided to change the name of this fanfic from Returned to Maple Saga: Returned because there'll be sequel and everything, blah blah blah. Anyway, I hope it sound better!**

**Read and review, thank you.**


	9. Unavoidable truth

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia : 15 years old**

**Crystal R. Crawfold : 18 years old**

**Chapter 9 : Unavoidable truth**

Evan widen her eyes as she entered a familiar ice cave – the cave where another Onyx dragon was found a couple of weeks ago. The brunette turned around, searched the entire cave to find where Hiver was hiding, but failed to find even one smallest clue where he was. ( That's bastard! I'll kill him! ) She thought and walked to the entrance of the cave.

_Dragon master..._

Evan turned around and looked at the transparent ice wall, whispered to herself " Who said that ? ". The purple crystal ball on the small altar glowed brightly, and that voice echoed again

_Come closer..._

" Did you just... talk to me ? " Evan slowly walked to the ice wall, her eyes narrowed at the dragon on the other side of the wall. It's eyes blinked slowly, the golden colored pupils motioned to the small altar. " You want me to touch it ? " Evan spoke, didn't know if the dragon could hear her. A small crack appeared on the crystal ball, across the Onyx dragon symbol " You want me to break it ? ". The dragon blinked again, and Evan picked it up. Using every ounce of her strength, Evan smashed it into thousand pieces as she threw it on the floor, felt her hands burning when the small piece shattered every where in the cave. The ice wall between Evan and the Onyx dragon disappeared, glitters fell down as Evan walked toward the dragon. She noticed there were several scar and wound along it's body, the huge wings were covered in ash as if they were burned down a long time ago. The dragon whispered, it's eyes focused on her :

" The last dragon master... "

" Uh... yes, I am. And you are... "

" Afrien, King of the Onyx dragon... the now extinct Onyx dragon... " He squeezed his eyes shut in pain and sorrow, let out a sigh. " You are the king ? " Evan gasped, backed away from the dragon.

" Don't be afraid, child. Our kind isn't dangerous, we love human... " Afrien chuckled, and the brunette walked up to him. " But how come the Onyx dragon extinct if they aren't a threat to human ? "

"...I can't answer that question with words " Afrien seemed to be in a deep though before he continued " I will show you my memories... the memories of that horrible day... ". His eyes began to glowed in a bright white light, and everything around Evan faded away...

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><p>The dragon master opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of a burning forest. Dead people and animals was all over the place, covered in flame as Evan walked through the forest. Evan startled as she began to come across many dead Onyx dragon lying all over the face, some of them was nothing but a skeleton left. Suddenly, somebody with brown hair ran past her, his robe reminded Evan of the clothes her mother had gave her a while ago. He was carrying an egg, which Evan knew was the Onyx dragon egg, and ran to where Afrien was lying. The dragon king looked worn out as the man stopped by his side and waved his wand, created a blue mist around them.<p>

" Master... Freud, did you get hurt ? Did anybody get hurt ? " Afrien breathed out, winced in pain as the mist touched his bleeding wound.

" Everybody is fine, except for Aran and Mercedes. They fought at the front line and got hurt " Freud looked at the egg in his arms, broke down " This is all my fault, if I let you go, none of this would have happened... ". Afrien moved his head and gently touched the magician's shoulder, whispered " It was our decision, master. Black mage cannot break the spirit pact, and I will never betray you to join his side. I don't need a complete spirit from him, because I knew it will turn me evil as well "

" But... your entire race... " Freud got up on his feet, gently squeezed the egg in his arms. Afrien sighed, closed his eyes. A loud bang set both of them and Evan off, and an army of dark wyvern appeared, floated past Evan as if she wasn't there and moved toward where Freud and Afrien at. " Run master, protect the egg. As long as the egg exist, there will be hope that another human will find it "

The young man nodded, cast a spell on Afrien before he ran off.

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><p>Everything became a blur afterward, and Evan found herself back inside the ice cave. The brunette felt hot tears running down on her cheek as she looked at Afrien " So... you're Mir's... ". Afrien sighed again, his voice filled with sorrow as he spoke " I'm as good as dead now... Please take care of him for me... ". Evan nodded, wiped away her tears and whispered " I'll not let anything happen to Mir, I promise ".<p>

As Evan and Afrien weren't paying attention, a bullet cut through the air and struck Evan deep in her shoulder. She grunted and turned around to find Hiver was hiding behind a boulder, holding a gun. " Hiver! I'll kill you! " Evan shouted, aimed her wand at the Black Wing member and waved it, created golden beams of light at him. Hiver quickly jumped out of the way to dodge her attack and vanished within thin air. Before the dragon master could react, Hiver reappeared behind her with a dagger raised high in his hand...

Black thunders fell down from thin air and knocked Hiver away from Evan, leaving the ground covered in black ashes. Afrien collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily " Don't you... dare to hurt... her... ". Evan ran to his side, stopped her bleeding shoulder with her other hand. " Are you ok ? " She whispered, looked at Afrien's wounds. " I do not have a complete spirit, so I cannot help you much... " He hissed in pain as he tried to stand up. Evan turned to Hiver, who was getting back on his feet, her eyes narrowed at the seal stone in his pocket. " Magic Flare! " She shouted, waved her wand to cast another beam of light at him, burned his coat off. The purple stone fell softly on the ground, lying perfectly still between Hiver and Evan...

They quickly raced to the stone, weapon readied in both their hands. Evan used every last of her strength to push herself to the stone and grabbed it, the wand felt of her hand. " Give me the stone little girl " Hiver aimed the wand at her face, crushed her wand into pieces with his feet. " Like hell I will, you liar! " She shouted and back away.

" Liar ? I never lie to you " He laughed " You are just too naïve to figure out that we're just using you. After I'm done with you, your little dragon will be next ". Evan widen her eyes when she felt a sharp pain on her stomach, looked down to see blood dripping down from her stomach. " You... will not... touch Mir " Evan growled, feeling dizzy because of the blood loss, only to make Hiver laughed. " What are you gonna do then ? Run home and cry to mommy ? " He kicked the dragon master, laughed louder...

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><p>Afrien felt another dark aura filled the cave, completely different from Hiver's. The dragon king forcefully turned his head to where Evan was lying, widen his eyes when he saw a crimson aura covered her body, looked like a burning dragon. Hiver seemed to notice it as well, he took a few step away from her as Evan got up on her feet. " You are dead! " She pressed on each and every words, curled her hand into a fist and punched him. The pressure of the punch sent Hiver into a wall, destroyed a part of his organs.<p>

" Shit! I need to get out of here " The Black Wing member coughed out blood, watched the aura around Evan started swirling and took form of the Onyx dragon symbol. Pulled out a dark crystal-like stone, Hiver tossed it on the ground and watched it turned into a dimension door in front of him. " We will see each other again soon, Evan " He laughed before entered the door and vanished within thin air...

Evan felt her legs went numb before she fell flat on her stomach, her cheek meet the icy cold floor as the aura faded away. The brunette never felt so weak and worn out like this before. " Child, are you alright ? " She faintly heard Afrien's voice from above, felt some kind of warm, bitter liquid in her mouth when she tried to talk. The dragon king lowered his head and whispered

* * *

><p>" Don't move much, child. I'll teleport you to where your dragon is " His golden horn started glowing as he spoke, and within second, Evan was back next to Aran. The pole-arm wielder widen his eyes when he saw Evan lying in a pool of blood next to him, her clothes was covered in ashes. " Evan! What happened to you ? " He carefully turned her over and saw her white shirt was covered in blood. " Dang it! " He searched through his bag to find something to stop the bleeding. Threw the bottle of potion out of the bag, Aran cursed when he reached the bottom and found not even one bandages. A small scroll fell out of his bag caught his eyes. ( Lillin's scroll! ) Aran quickly grabbed it and held onto Evan. " Mir! Get over here! " The onyx dragon startled, but still got to his side before Aran opened it and wrapped the three of them back to Rien...<p>

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><p>Bahamut picked up another pearl fell on the floor as Crystal removed the pearl necklace around her decorative bun, letting all her hair touched the floor. The priestess removed every pieces of jewelries she was wearing and put them on the table, her eyes focused on the tarots card floating in front of her. Three cards in the middle were turned over, the left one is the reversed magician card. " A confused girl, she doesn't know her purpose of life " Crystal whispered, looked at the middle, the reversed strength card. " Her power was used for the wrong purpose " Bahamut put his hand on her bare shoulder and started massaged her neck. " For devil " Crystal clicked her tongue as she held the devil card between her fingers. The top two card was turned over, the death and justice card " She dies trying to find the justice "<p>

A bright light appeared mid-air in Rien, and Aran was threw out from it, his arms wrapped around Evan as he used himself to shield her, not wanting to make her lose more blood. Mir nuzzled his nose on Evan's cheek, licked away the blood on the corner of her lips as Aran kicked the front of his house open, shouted " Lillin! Anyone ? I need some bandages quick! ". He saw Cecelia peeked out from the guest room and winced at the sight of Evan. " Mistress, hurry! Someone got hurt! " The pink haired girl quickly dragged her out of the room. The priestess scanned through Evan's wounds, looked at the dry blood on her white shirt.

" Bahamut " The guardian nodded and pulled his sleeve up to his shoulder, showing dozen of scar along his arms. He then used his sharp nail and sliced his own wrist, letting the blood dripped down as he held his arms close to Evan's lips.

" What are you doing ? " Aran shouted, pushed Bahamut away from the brunette and cleaned the corner of her lips with his hand. " Don't worry. His blood can keep her alive while I heal her " Crystal got down on her knee and pulled Evan's shirt off, which made Aran blushed and turned away. The priestess didn't give a damn as she concentrated her man into her finger nails, sliced carefully through where the bullet struck on Evan's shoulder and pulled the bullet out using the tip of her nails.

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><p><strong>An : Short chapter, yes I know. I've been super busy with college and my part time lately I barely got the chance to actually sit down on write without someone bugging me.**

**When Evan punched Hiver, it's the Earthquake skill. I don't like how Evan have to completely relies on Mir to fight so I gave her some skill ( Magic Flare and Earthquake ) so she could at least protect herself whenever Mir wasn't around.**

**Check out my other story about me and a Maple NPC - Crow, the title is Silent Crusade.**

**Read and review both of my fanfic, thank you.**

**Yes! Mercedes will be a part of my fanfic as well!**


	10. Evere

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia : 15 years old**

**Crystal R. Crawfold : 18 years old**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Evere<strong>

" Empress, we can't just ignore the fact and act like nothing happened! " Neinheart gritted through his teeth, not wanting to yell at the young empress. Cygnus sighed, gently petted Shinsoo on the nose, the holy bird closed her eyes and relaxed at her touch. The royal adviser growled and turned to the chief knights sitting by the white marble table.

" Will someone go and knock some sense into the empress ? " Neinheart sat down on the only empty chair and rubbed his tempers. " I'll go talk to her highness. In the mean time, you should probably write a notice and send it to her " Mihile patted on the blue haired advisor's shoulder. The chief Dawn warrior walked up to where Cygnus was sitting, placed one hand on his armor and gave her a deep bow.

" Let's me guess, Neinheart want you to change my mind " Cygnus looked at him with her innocent ocean blue eyes. Mihile offered his hand to help the empress got up and led her to the garden. " Miss Cygnus, I think Neinheart was right. It was our duty to protect the people of Maple world from the Black wing. "

" But that girl, I don't think she is dangerous, or even close to that " Cygnus twirled a lock of her golden hair in her finger and sat down by the stone table next to the beautiful waterfall. " My queen, I don't think you should judge people by how they look. It's best that we should solve this problem instead of leaving it "

" I don't think execute her would solve the problem, Mihile. I prefer a meeting with all the chief from Victoria island and talk the whole thing out "

" Very well, my queen " Mihile bowed to her " I'll go tell Neinheart "

* * *

><p>" Ugh... " Evan groaned as she opened her eyes, feeling a dull pain from her stomach " Where am I ? ".The brunette turned her head to see someone with messy silver hair resting his head on the edge of the bed. " ...Aran ? " Evan whispered, raised her hand to touch his spiky hair, but he didn't wake up. Too tired to get up, she turned her head and found herself staring at a ceiling made from dry bamboo, several ancient scrolls were hung on the wall, all was written in a different language. " Must be his house... " Evan mumbled to herself, closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep...<p>

" She hasn't fully recovered yet " Evan heard someone, probably a girl spoke from outside the room. Another person with a really familiar voice to Evan shouted

" I don't give a shit! She's my sister and I have to see her! Now move! "

The wooden door swung open and Utah ran inside, pushed Aran off. Evan winced when the warrior's head met the floor and created a loud thud, cursing out loud. " Evan! Are you okay ? " Utah didn't give a damn about Aran when he pulled the brunette up and gave her a one of his bear huge, made Evan groaned from the pain on her shoulder. " Utah, that girl said your sister hasn't fully healed yet " She turned around to see her parents standing at the door.

" I'll... give you and your family a little privacy " Aran got up on his feet, rubbing his head as he left the room and closed the door. Evan turned her attention to her family, felt her throat went dry and unable to say anything, so she looked down and gripped on the blanket.

" Evan honey... " Anna started, but Gustav cut her off

" Evan, we're very disappointed of you " Her father sat down on a nearby chair " Your mother and I, we thought we've taught you better than that... "

" Mom... Dad... I'm sorry, it's... " Tears built up at the corner of her eyes when Evan tried to find the right words to explain, but her father cut off

" No excuse young lady! You should know better than stealing, especially stealing something important like the seal stone! " She could barely saw his veins popping out on his forehead, which was never a good sign. Utah quickly backed away from the bed, fear written all over his face. Anna let out a sighed and put one hand on her husband's shoulder, silently telling him to calm down. " Fine, I'll control myself. But we're still not done talking about this! " He stormed out of the room.

" How do you feel, Evan ? " Her mother brought her hand to Evan's cheek and checked on her injured shoulder. " I'm fine, mom " The brunette mumbled , avoided looking direct into her mother eyes. Anna gently wiped away the tears on Evan's eyes, gave her a soft kiss on the forehead " Don't listen to what your father just said. He was really worry about you, well, we all did ".

" Mom, I've done something terrible... How can you act like nothing happened ? " Evan whispered, more tears ran down on her cheeks. Anna quickly hushed her, placed a finger on her lips and whispered " Honey, no one blame you, so don't blame yourself ".

* * *

><p>" Excuse me " They both turned around and saw a raven haired girl in a nightgown, carrying a bottle full of dark brown liquid and a glass with her. Her milky white eyes wandering from Anna's face to Evan's, before she walked to them and said<p>

" My apologize, ma'am, but your daughter need more rest. "

Anna nodded, kissed Evan's forehead one last time before she left the room. The raven haired then poured a small amount of the liquid into the glass, a heavy scent of weed and salt filled Evan's nose, made her coughed. " You might want to cover your nose and drink this " She gave Evan the glass, and she took a small sip from it...

Evan started coughing like crazy, her throat was burning the moment she swallowed the brown liquid. " What is this ? It tastes like blood " The dragon master gave the glass back, shivered.

" Because it is blood " The girl in front of her answered " Dragon blood "

" ...dragon ? Mir! " Evan's widen her eyes, her eyes twitched violently to find her wand, only to remember that it was destroyed.

" Mir... as in that Onyx dragon of yours ? "

" Yes, is he... "

" He's in perfect condition, and that isn't his blood " Evan sighed in relief, " But whose blood is it ? ". The girl remained silent, she pulled her sleeve up and revealed a long cut on her pale arm. The cut looked deep to Evan, although it looked like it has healed for quite a while. " Your blood ? B-but you said it's... " Evan blinked a few times, she noticed something weird: A strange aura was floating around the room, brushed through every objects in the room and floated back to the raven haired girl.

" What... are you ? "

" You read energy ? " She blinked, a hint of surprise appeared in her voice, " You must have a close relationship with your dragon, am I right ? "

" I-I guess... " Evan stuttered, didn't know what she was trying to implied...

* * *

><p>" Crystal " Evan heard Aran's voice from outside the room, looked at the raven haired girl, " So, your name is Crystal ? ". She nodded, got up and left the room, the strange aura floated beside her as she did. Another person walked in, and this time, Evan felt the tense inside her faded away when she saw Shin's familiar face. " Evan! " The blonde assassin ran straight to the bed and hugged Evan tight, " Shin... can't... breath... ". The night walker immediately let her go, laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.<p>

" Oh, I almost forgot... " Shin then pulled out a small scroll from his bag and gave it to Evan. The scroll has the similar symbol like the one of the book he showed her before, tied by a golden ribbon with a white feather. " It's a little bit loose " Evan pulled the golden ribbon off and commented. The night walker suddenly whispering and turned looked away, looked like he was hiding something.

" Did you... read it ? " Evan asked

" No! I swear I didn't open it! I swear I don't know anything about the meeting! " He covered his ears and started singing. " Okay... " Evan turned her attention to the opened scroll...

* * *

><p><em>Miss Evan.<em>

_I've received words that you stole the seal stone in Ludibrium and destroyed a part of the city. And also, I have the proofs that you are, somehow, has helped the Black Wing's members, a group of criminals stole the seal stone in Orbis before._

_Normally, we would just execute anyone related to the Black wings, but our empress decided to have a meeting with all the chief in Victoria island and your parents as well. The meeting will take place this weekend in Evere, in the mean time, Shin will watch your every move and make sure you will not escape._

_Good day_

_Neinheart_

* * *

><p>" Are you worry ? " Anna dusted off Evan's skirt and fixed the hair band on top of her head. The brunette took a deep breath and sighed, looked at the golden gate. Her family has arrived to Evere two hours before the meeting, with Aran and Lillin. Evan was wearing the clothes once belonged to her great-grandfather Freud, standing next to Mir. The onyx dragon snuggled his head against his master's neck and breathed on her still-injured shoulder. " It's okay, we'll be alright... " The dragon master whispered, but Evan still has doubt on her own word. She didn't know what will happened when they walked through that beautiful gate of Evere and faced the empress.<p>

" C'mon, Evan " Shin placed one hand on her shoulder, reassured her again " I'm sure the empress won't punish you... too hard ". The last two words, he whispered, but Evan still can heard him. A sweat-drop ran down from her forehead when Evan followed Shin into the hall...

The main hall of Evere looked like a beautiful garden with several white marble tables and chairs on the fresh green grass. Some benches was moved next to a chamber and a small stool stood in front a chamber. Evan noticed Athena and Grendal was sitting with her parents and some other people she didn't know. A man in white robe, she assume he is Neinheart, walked to her.

" So, you're the criminal ? " He stared at her " You don't look like one, but I learnt not to judge people by their look "

" Why you! " Evan gritted her teeth, about to give him a piece of her mind before both Shin and Mir stopped her. " Don't! He is capable of giving you the death treatment, Evan! " The blonde hissed, pushed her away from Neinheart. The adviser chuckled and walked away.

" Empress, she's here. Shall we start ? " Cygnus got up and walked by the stool, "Yes, please do "

" Evan Rosalinda, daughter of Gustav and Anna, lives in a farm east Henesys, a dragon master... "

Everybody started whispering rather loudly, and Evan can only heard some certain sentences:

" ...dragon master ? I never heard... "

" ...Onyx dragon extinct ?... "

" ...symbol on her clothes and hand... "

" That dragon... "

" Enough! " Neinheart cut them off, " I aware that she is a dragon master, and that dragon next to her is an Onyx dragon ". The adviser didn't expected people started talking loudly again, and this time, Athena got off the bench and walked to the brunette. " I knew there was something special about you and that dragon " The elf smiled and gently patted Evan's head.

" Miss Pierce, I suggest you go back to your seat so we could continue the meeting " Athene glanced at him, but she returned to the bench and sat down between Grendal and Kyrin. Neinheart cough:

" As I was gonna said, miss Evan here has commited a terrible crime: Helping the Black wings, an enemy to the Maple world and let them have one of the precious steal stone. Do you have anything to say, miss Evan ? "

" Um... no... " Evan looked at her parents nervously, not knowing what to say." Your punishment in this case should be death, but empress Cygnus decided to give you a different one " Neinheart continue to read from the scroll before he walked to the empress and handed it to her. Cygnus then got up on her feet, with Mihile standing a few feet behind her " After reading miss Evan's profile and knowing she is the last dragon master, I declare, her punishment will be... "

* * *

><p>Aran bit his lips nervously, tightly gripped on Lillin's hand as he did so, " It's ok, not like the empress gonna give her the death treatment " Lillin gently patted on his shoulder to comfort him. The warrior turned his attention to Evan and wished he could stand next to the magician right now, even just to hold her hand. Aran faintly heard empress Cygnus say something, and he saw Evan started running toward him. The brunette wrapped her arms around his neck, hopped like a bunny while she cried out happily:<p>

" I'm cleared! Aran, I'm cleared from all charge " Evan hugged him tight and buried her face in his neck. The warrior was a bit shock by her action, but he still put his arms around her waist and took in the sweet scent of her hair. They stood in that position for what seemed like hours, even days, until someone coughed.

" Oops " They both let each other go, hint of blush appeared on Evan's cheek as she did so, " As I was saying, you will not face any punishment, Evan. Instead, you will go through a two month trial in Evere, and you cannot leave this island from this moment till the trial is over " Cygnus declared.

Meanwhile...

" Who is this ? " Afrien hissed through his teeth, didn't bother to open his eyes and looked at the stranger just stepped foot inside the ice cave. " Hello, uncle " Crystal lowered the hat of her black cloak and walked toward the old dragon. Afrien widen his eyes as the priestess touched the symbol on his forehead and whispered, " I'm here for my memories... "

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><p><strong>An : This chapter is another pain in the crack, I'm sorry all fellow readers for taking to long to update. And about the meeting in Evere ( Or at least I think it's called a meeting, i don't know what American calls when someone who commit a crime and was brought to justice. Again, my apologize ). And I believe some people might think Shin is a little bit "left out", but don't worry, I'll focus on him in the sequel of this fanfic.**

**Maple Saga: Returned is coming to an end ( -sniff- -sniff- ). But I'm working on the sequel: Maple Saga: Big Bang.**

**( Hint hint: My story has 4 parts, maybe more since it's based on the information and experience from playing Korean Maple Story ).**

**Read and review please, thank you very much!**


	11. The Prophecy of the Black Mage

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia Haruka: 15 years old**

**Crystal R. Crawfold : 18 years old**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: The Prophecy of the Black Mage<strong>

" Wakie wakie, dragon girl!" Evan woke up being shook by a hyperactive Oz, Pulled the silk blanket over her head, "Five more minutes...". Oz snapped her fingers and a small fire started burning on Evan's bottom, and she quickly got out of the bed and ran straight inside the bathroom. "Hurry up! You got five minutes to change your clothes" The red haired said in a sing-song voice and skipped like a little girl around the room.

Shin was picking up his steelies on the ground after five hours training before the sun was up, his forehead was covered with cold sweat and his vision was blurry after training to perfect his aim. He sat down on the grass, letting the cool wind of Evere washed over him, cooled him down. "Morning Shin!" He turned his head to see the hyperactive Oz was waving at him, behind her was Evan. "Hi Evan" The blond waved weakly before he passed out, his face hit the grass as he began to snort loudly.

"Is he gonna be okay ?" Evan turned to Oz, and the red haired picked up a tree branch to poke on his cheek a few times, " He's alive! He's just exhausted from all those training Hawkeye tricked him into" Oz announced happily before pulled her to the magician's training ground by the waterfall. Evan saw a couple of knights were sparring against each other, fire spells was thrown in every direction, "Isn't it kind of dangerous, Oz ?" The blaze wizard shook her head, "Nope, that's what the waterfall is for". One of those fire element spell barely missed where they were standing, and the fire started burning the patch of grass behind them, but was quickly stopped when the water inside the lake splashed at the girl's direction, made both Evan and Oz completely soaked. The blaze wizard burst out laughing and summoned a fire spirit to dried off their clothes.

"Okay, enough with goofing around. Show me your skills, Evan" Oz waved her Evil wings in a playful way and pointed at the brunette.

"But... I don't have any weapon... "

" Who need them ? Wand and staff are just tool to make you strong, and you can live without them" She lightly hit Evan on the head, " Now, show off your skill"

"Alright..." Evan took a few steps away from Oz and looked at her bare hands nervously. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how she have performed those skill before, (Let's see, mold mana into a shield) The dragon master could felt the rush of her mana flowing to the palm of her left hand before she released it out. She could barely maintain the light blue shield in her hand before it faded away, "You can do better, onto the next skill"

"Magic Flare!" Evan released the mana in her right hand at the ground, created a beam of light. The beam seemed to be higher than normal if she remembered correctly. "Awesome!" Oz squeaked out, "I never saw that skill before, not even after I read every single books from the Magic library. Where did you learn that?"

"Um... I don't know... It came by natural I think"

"Aw... I was hoping I could learn a new skill..." The red haired pouted, " Oh well, now try attacking that dummy with that skill then". Evan turned around to see a woman in green clothes was standing a few feet away from them, holding a golden bow. In front of Irena was a straw dummy standing tall. The brunette gathered her mana again, aimed at the target hanging on the dummy.

* * *

><p>"Crystal..."<p>

"...Hm ?" The raven haired didn't bother to turned around to see who it was. Aran sat down beside her and touched a lock of her hair that fell out of place, "You have been sitting in here for days already. Don't you have to eat ?"

"No, I can live without food and drink for days if I want" She gently scratched Mir's head, the onyx dragon purred as he rested his head on her lap. Stared at the ice mirror inside the cave again, she tried to make out the fuzzy images in her head, her cream colored eyes blinked a few times, "Sometimes, it's best to forget than trying to remember..." She said in a soft tone, the magic mirror reflected an image of a woman holding a little girl, behind them was a gold dragon. Aran sighed:

"Well, I gotta train now. I'm right outside if you need me" With that, he picked up his polearm and left the cave. Maha appeared behind him, floating, "Jeez, that girl is crazy. Wasting her whole life to find what she doesn't want".

"Atleast she did it on her own will, unlike someone forced me to find my memories" The silver haired noticed Cecelia was tossing rock into the ocean, dark clouds hovering above her head, "Cecelia, what wrong ?" The pink haired girl turned around and Aran could see dark circle under her eyes. "I haven't sleep" She grunted and turned away, " I won't sleep if mistress won't"

" She will be fine, just go back to the village and get some rest"

"No! I won't leave until mistress want me to leave!" Cecelia growled at him, "She saved my life once and this is the least I can do"

"How did you meet her anyway ?" Aran put his weapon down, and Maha quickly faded away from his sight, but he didn't care. Cecelia clutched on her knees and whispered, "I ran away from home"

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback <strong>

" But dad! " I whined when he took my bag and threw it on the couch, "No is no, Cecelia! I already told you it's too dangerous"

" Daddy, I'm a big girl now! I can take care of myself" I flipped my long pink hairs over my shoulders and stomped my feet on the wooden floor. I was really angry and frustrated when my father ignored my attempts and walked to his room. How can he not understand his daughter's dream is to travel around the world ? I knew I was everything he has left when mother died, but I didn't want to stuck in Maple island one more day. I couldn't even go to Southperry thanks to my father. I didn't know that I was already back inside my cozy bedroom and tears was running from my eyes...

"Let's finish with our training, there's a flight to Victoria tonight" I heard some voice outside the window and peeked out: Two boys from my village was holding weapons and talking, but I could only focused on the thing they just said. (A flight to Victoria island tonight, perfect) I thought and took out a piece of paper and a pen to write a letter to my dad before grabbed anything I could found, clothes, shoes and my piggy bank. I glanced at the family photo on the table before shoved it inside the bag and jumped out my window, landed on a tree branch. I could heard my father asking me what I want for dinner behind the door, but I ignored it and jumped down, running straight to the village entrance without stopping or looking back...

**End flashback**

" So yeah... I ran away and arrived at Victoria island the following day " Cecelia laughed bitterly, sunk deeper behind her knees, "I went to Nautilus harbot and after a short training with miss Kyrin, I became a pirate"

"I was doing pretty fine, I wrote to my father sometimes but he never reply any of my letters. He must have disowned me" A single teardrop ran down on her cheek, but Cecelia secretly wiped it away, "I traveled around the island and trained to get stronger, but one day..."

**Flashback**

"Hey!" I turned around to see a guy in a black hood, wearing a sunglasses, "Me ?" I was the only person beside him in the middle of the rain forest. He nodded impatiently and I walked toward him, "Do you want to buy a new weapon ?".

"Show me" I smiled, letting my guard drop. He took out a grey gun with gold decorations and held it in front of me, "This beauty suit you. What do you think ?".

" Of course I'll buy it!" I was really excited when I about to get a new weapon to make myself stronger, so I took my wallet out. Before I could react, the stranger suddenly snatched it off my hand and ran off. "Hey! Give it back!" I was shocked for a second before I chased after him, holding my own gun and tried to shoot him down. But the thief was too fast, he vanished when I reached the gate of Henesys, completely exhausted. "Stupid thief!" I yelled out, not giving a damn about the crowd around me when I kicked the wastebasket hard and stomped my feet on the ground, "Should've left some mesos at the storage!" I cursed my bad luck and stormed out of the market, couldn't find the thief anywhere...

It was raining hard that night in the forest near Ellina, but I didn't care at all. My stomach growled again, begging for food. (Just my luck) I thought and clutched on my knees, tried to ignore the fact that I haven't eat anything for the last few days. A soft footstep was heard a few feet away from me, but I didn't looked up.

"Bahamut, stop" I heard a female voice and saw a pair of bare feet in front of me, "Mistress, we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves" The other person, must be a guy said. The girl kneeled down and touched my hair, pushed the lock that felt out of place, " Little girl, are you hungry ?" She asked.

"Don't call me little! I'm 10!" I growled at her and looked up. At first, I was speechless when I saw the person in front of me: Her eyes was a milky white color that almost matched her pale skin, and there was dozens of scars on her face and along her arms. She seemed to notice that and chuckled softly, " It's just some minor wounds, don't worry about that". I turned to the other person, a man in a weird looking robe standing behind her, he looked rather dangerous with all those muscles and the dragon tattoos across his face. The girls seemed to notice the tension, gently touched my forehead and suddenly everything went black...

**End flashback**

"They took care of me, well, mostly mistress did" Cecelia giggled to herself, "Bahamut didn't want anything to do with me at first, but he soon accepted the fact mistress love me as a sister"

"Did they make you go with them ?" Cecelia leaned her head on Aran's shoulder, yawned, "No... mistress said... I can leave... whenever I want... ". And with that, Cecelia felt asleep, her light breath tickling his neck.

* * *

><p><em>Everything look perfectly fine, but I felt unease...<em>

* * *

><p>Underneath Magatia, a small town located south Nihal desert, inside a small lab with a dark altar in the middle.<p>

" We've got everything we need for the resurrection of our master " Hiver put all three seal stones on the dark altar, " We just need to find where his corpse is "

" I already found where those heroes sealed him " Baroq chuckled, took out a scroll covered in dust, " Rien clan is really useful, wrote down everything we need to know, about our master, and enemies". Some of the Black wings laughed, but their laughter died when Eleanor raised a hand and motioned Baroq to give her the scroll. The black witch unrolled it, scanned her eyes through Lillin's handwriting, " After the final battle between our master and those heroes, his soul was banished from his body and sealed away, while his body was supposed to be buried in a town where he was born "

" What ? " Hiver turned around, his face was pale, " Master never told us where he was born, hell, he never even tell anyone his real name "

" Patient, Hiver " Eleanor chuckled " If his body was buried at where he was born, then I'm sure I know exactly where "

A small figure appeared at the small door, "Francis, I believe you found what we are looking for ? "

Francis nodded, held out a small dark purple orb in his hands. There was some kind of black smoke swirling around the orb, " Good, now put it in the middle of the altar " The small boy followed Eleanor's order, and the moment that orb touched the soft surface of the dark silk pillow, it began to glow brightly, absorbed the light from the seal stones around it...

* * *

><p>From the oldest scrolls crumbling into dust, in the most hidden libraries of Maple World, the ancients tell of the secret prophecy of the Black Mage. The Black Mage is not vanquished, he is not gone, they say. He merely awaits his opportunity to return and conquer.<p>

The Black Mage defies reason, sustained by his rage. For too long the Black Mage has lain dormant, seething in his own hatred and delighting in his vision for the ruin of Maple World. The ancient prophecy warned that this day would come.

It was not heeded.

From the histories

**_The First Rise and Fall_**__

___ "The Black Mage was born as other men, child of a mother and father who loved him, citizen of a peaceful town filled with friendly prosperous citizens. Few remembered the preternaturally bright child who would grow into a brilliant young man, eager to delve into the secrets of magic. Some saw the arrogant temperament, impatience, and a ready anger that he unleashed with little provocation, but the black hole at the center of his soul that might have foreshadowed what he would become was hidden from their sight._

_ The first reign of the Black Mage began as many tyrannies did – with a call for change. The Black Mage saw the chaos in Maple World and believed that the people could not be trusted to make their own decisions. He felt that they needed a benevolent king to control every aspect of their lives and he rose to power using noble ideals such as peace and freedom. The people believed his words and embraced his voice. Soon, they found the only peace offered by the Black Mage was the peace of the grave and the only freedom was freedom from responsibility that marks aslave. The reign of the Black Mage was unprecedented in its cruelty, all done in the name of the greater good._

_ In time, Maple World fought back. Heroes great and small struggled against the Black Mage. The Black Mage battled against them mightily, screaming all the while that these ungrateful children did not understand his genius and rejected his wisdom. In time, he descended into madness, deciding if the world would not accord him the obedience and worship that is his due, it would have to be destroyed. The last battles against the Black Mage exacted a terrible price from MapleWorld but he was at last defeated, though heroes such as the Polearm-wielder and the Dragon King sacrificed mightily for the safety of the world." _

_**The Sufferings of Maple World**__**  
><strong>__**  
><strong>_In the years that followed, many of the Black Mage's minions worked in ways both gross and subtle to bring about his return. Dedicated to the evil man they believed would one day return to help them rule, scourges such as Pink Bean, Horntail, and the Dragon Riders plagued the countryside, presaging the coming of their dark master.

Fortunately for the good people of Maple World, those of good will responded. Explorers and Cygnus Knights beyond number battled against all manner of evil monsters. Great heroes from the past returned and a new Dragon-friend rose to lead the fight.

_**The Heart of Darkness**__**  
><strong>__**  
><strong>_Alas, it is said that those who struggle for right shall fail. In time, the Black Mage will return. Yet the villains who work for such an end are the greater fools. They believe that the Black Mage returns to place them as the new ruling class that will dominate Maple World but the "Black Mage" that they long for will be gone. What they bring back will be a darkness beyond anything they can imagine.  
>The Black Mage has spent the long years after his defeat in a place beyond light, beyond time, beyond mercy. He has planned his vengeance not just on the people of Maple World, but on all of existence. When he returns, all of creation will feel the lash of his wrath.<p>

_**The Big Bang**__**  
><strong>__**  
><strong>_From the Prophecy:

_ Know this if you would recognize the time of the Black Mage's return. In a small town otherwise hidden from the world, a secret cabal will raise the thing that used to be the Black Mage and bring it back into the world. The day of his coming shall never be forgotten. At his arrival, all of existence shall wink out, and when it returns, nothing will be the same. _

_This event shall be forever called the "Big Bang."_

_Maple World will be changed. Some changes will be subtle. Monsters that were once weak will grow strong. Others that were strong shall grow weaker. The powers of dark magic shall change. Spells that are commonplace will no longer work and the heroes of Maple World will display abilities never before seen. The world and its cities and towns will move, familiar landmarks will disappear or be altered beyond recognition, and new lands will arise to be explored. It will be the Maple World we love – but everything will be different._

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><p><strong>AN: I borrowed the last part from Nexon, so if anyone don't like it, please click back.**

**Attention people, Maple Saga: Returned is coming to an end (Although I'm a little bit disappointed that not much people willing to tell me how they think about my fanfic, but I'm cool with that), and I'm planning to write a sequel after the final chapter of this fanfic.**

**Read and review, thank you!**


	12. Big Bang

**Evan Rosalinda : 16 years old**

**Aran Rien : 19 years old**

**Shin Yoshida : 20 years old**

**Bahamut : 25 years old**

**Cecelia Haruka: 15 years old**

**Crystal R. Crawfold : 18 years old**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Big Bang<strong>

Grendal sat down on the old wooden chair, put aside his staff and opened the half folded paper. Inside, there was another piece of paper folded into four. Carefully put the other paper on the table, the old magician read the letter with the help of the candle light next to him...

_Grendal -_

Can you verify any of this? This is a portion of a letter found on the body of a messenger outside of Perion. We don't know to whom it was addressed to in Perion and the story it tells is too fantastic to be believed. I have people out now searching for the rest of this document, but what it says here is terrifying if true.

Dances With Balrogs

The old magician raised an eye brow and picked up the other paper, opened it. His hand started shaking as his eyes scanned through the italic hand-writing, before took out a pencil and wrote something on Balrog's letter...

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><p>"Master..." Mir curled together into a ball, his head rested on his legs, dark cloud hovering above his head. The onyx dragon missed his master, he wanted to be close with Evan and felt her familiar presence again. Mir didn't know how long he had been lying there, unmoving, until he felt a hand touched his neck.<p>

" Miss your master ?" Bahamut sat down beside him, gently petted him, "You know, you can always talk to her"

"How ? " Mir grunted

"You two share the same soul. Take advantage of it"

"Like mind reading ?" The dragon looked up, his eyes was filled with hope, "Yeah, some what like that "Just close your eyes and focus on what you want"

Mir seemed hesitant for a second, but he closed his eyes and thought about Evan, everything else was washed away and he only focused on his master...

Master...

Evan heard a faint voice in her head, turned around and saw no one in her chamber.

Master, can you hear me ?

"Mir ?" She thought, the voice seemed clearer and more familiar this time. It like the first time she met him, "Master!" his voice echoed inside her head, sound happy.

"But how?" Evan thought again, couldn't stop herself from smiling when she heard his familiar voice, " I can't explain! Close your eyes master!". The brunette blinked a few times, just to make sure what she heard was correct. As soon as her eyelids was closed, she felt a strange gust blew past her, and a familiar warmth on the back of her hand. Mir suddenly came out of no where and hugged her tight, snuggled his head on her neck, "Master master master!" He cried out happily, his small legs wrapped around her arm.

"Mir!" The brunette put her arms around his neck, noticed the dragon had grown a little bit bigger than two week ago, "You shed again ?".

"Yup!" The Onyx dragon replied happily, before he took out a dark blue scale, "I want to give master this. This scale felt different, master"

"But, what am I suppose to do with this ?" Evan held the scale between her fingers and instantly felt the familiar warmth ran through her body, "I have no idea" Mir said, still grinning from seeing her, refused to let go of her...

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><p>Aran growled and charged at the priestess again, his polearm glowed bright orange as he swung it into a huge arch before he released the spirit of his weapon at her. Crystal simply took one step to the left, watched the polearm spirit smashed the boulder behind her into pieces before it returned to Maha's form, "You said you would block the attack!" The spirit stormed back to Aran's side, look annoyed. "Oh, but I didn't say how I would block it" She carelessly let her arms dropped down her side and titled her head, look completely innocent to Aran, "Again".<p>

"Judgment!" The silver haired leaped off, brought the sharp blade of the polearm down above her head, blue aura was unleashed around him.

"Magic guard" A light blue shield was created, blocked Aran's attack when he was only inches above her, before it shattered into pieces due the overwhelm pressure from the warrior's weapon. Crystal let out a soft gasp, stumbled backward and leaned on a bamboo tree, hand clutched on her cloak.

"I'm fine" She tried to breathe evenly when Bahamut and Cecelia quickly dashed to her side, "No, you're not! You could get hurt if the power of the shield wasn't strong enough" Bahamut put a hand on her forehead to make sure his mistress wasn't hurt her head, "Maybe you should get inside and rest"

"I told you I'm perfectly fine" She replied, her voice was calm before she brushed past him and walked to the pink haired pirate, "C'mon Cecelia, we're going for a walk"

"She seems stubborn" Aran wiped the sweats on his face with a towel, sat down on a bench made from old bamboo next to the guardian, "No, I'm just over protective when it comes to her safety" The raven haired admitted bitterly, "Not because she is the daughter of my master. I always felt something for her, although I can't explain it"

The two sat there, doing nothing but staring at the penguins digging through the icy mountains, trying to find anything buried under the ice. Aran looked at the ice cave where he first found in Rien, memories slipped back into his mind about that day.

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><p>"Lillin! There is something!" The high pitch voice woke Aran up, his eyes fluttering when a single ray of light hit his face. "Where am I ?"The silver haired thought, tried to move his fingers only to find himself trapped inside something as hard as stone, with some kind of dirt covered the surface. He heard a small footstep and a hand was placed on the surface of the stone that trapped him, slowly dusted the dirt away, giving him a clear view of the person outside: A young girl, probably around her 18 was looking at him, her long blue hair slightly swayed and her cyan eyes blinked curiously at him, but Aran didn't know who was that girl. (Shit! Amnesia) It was the first thing he had in mind when he searched through his memories and realized he didn't remember anything but his name. The girl's lips slightly parted, before he felt something dripping around him, (Water ?) Aran thought one moment before realized he was trapped inside an ice block.<p>

"Careful" The blue haired girl helped him got up on his feet, tiny pieces of ice fell off his shoulders as the silver haired stood up, hands on the girl's arms.

"Who... are you ?" Aran mumbled, looked at her again, "Where... am I ?"

"My name is Lillin" Lillin carefully led him out of the ice cave, her arm over his shoulder, "And this is Rien island"

"Ri...en ?"

"Yes, Rien. I'll explain later, right now we need to get you back to the village"

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><p>"Aran!" Lillin's voice snapped him out of his thought, and the warrior turned around, saw the blue haired girl standing behind him, holding some paper in her hands, her face was paler than usual, "Lillin, are you alright ?"<p>

"Read this" She gave him the papers, "Grendal sent these to Tru and then he gave me". Aran flipped the paper opened, scanned his eyes through the letter:

_My friend,_

_Forgive me that I cannot sign my name. I fear that by the time you read this, the worst will have happened and I will be gone, but even so, my identity might compromise our activities._

_I do not ask you to mourn for me. I will have died fighting for the right. I fight for my family, my town, and my world and I do not believe there is a better ending a person can ask for. I ask that you do not come here yourself. The Black Wings are too strong. This town has become their citadel and they would easily take care of a lone threat. Instead I ask you to publicize my story. Let Maple World know what has happened here. Let everyone know the true source of the Big Bang. Let them know what has happened and who caused it. Perhaps if the Explorers and the Cygnus Knights are alerted, the worst may be avoided. That is my only hope._

_My home is Edelstein. It's a quiet mining village that depends on a mineral called "Rue" for its economic livelihood. We are a peaceful people, content to work our mines and develop our technology. My people have a knack for with machines and we've developed a number of clever robot companions who help us in our work. Indeed, if there's one word to describe Edelstein, it would be "ingenuity." We take great pride in working together and supporting each other in the community._

_Save in one area, Edelstein has never had much impact on the world. We like it that way. We haven't seen an Explorer or a Cygnus Knight here in hundreds of years. We have little access to the great schools of magic, so our wizards have never specialized in attack or healing like the other magicians of Maple World. Instead our "Battle Mages" utilize magical auras to bolster the skills of other members of the community. A group of Battle Mage supported fighters has always been sufficient to drive off the few brigand bands in the area and their healing skills, while not as great as your clerics, are usually sufficient for the injuries common to a mining community._

_In the same way, those like me who have a restless nature can take up the arms of the Wild Hunters. These foresters have developed a kinship with the ferocious jaguars that roam the hills around Edelstein. As a matched pair, they supply security to our town. When called on, Wild Hunters can be as brave and as powerful as any of your Warriors._

_I've always believed that our low profile has less to do with any inherent peacefulness in our nature, than the shame of our great crime against Maple World._

_Edelstein, you see, is where the Black Mage was born._

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><p>"What the ?" The silver haired was shocked, re read the last part of the letter, "It not just that, read the second one"<p>

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><p><em>You must be shocked, my friend to find that Edelstein is the place where the Black Mage was born.<em>

_Of course you must know of the prophecy, that the Black Mage shall return some day to take vengeance upon the world. I scoffed at it as you do, believing it to nothing more than a musty old fairy tale – until they came, the Black Wings._

_They first appeared about a year ago. At first they were just unfriendly strangers that entered Edelstein and lurked about. We were suspicious of course, but they didn't seem to be doing any harm. They just walked about town in their black robes and made the occasional visit to City Hall. When we talked with them, they just said they were a religious sect called the "Black Wings" and that our town was a holy place where they had come to meditate. Had we but known…_

_About two months ago, a variety of bizarre edicts started to come from City Hall, new rules that dictated everything from where you could travel, who you could talk to, where you could eat and drink, even a curfew that kept you in your home at night. We protested, of course, but all we got from City Hall was vague descriptions of a "coming emergency" that justified this temporary suspension of liberty. The City Council President at the time ended up deputizing the Black Wings to "keep order" in the town - though he seemed frightened and nervous when he told us of it. Before we knew it, we were prisoners. Life on the surface went on seemingly as before, but underneath, the Black Wings kept us under their boot heel._

_I shall never forget the night of the Big Bang. Two weeks ago, we had been hearing strange sounds emanating from City Hall for several days and at night we could see colored lights and shadows moving across the windows. At midnight on that fateful night though, we heard the chanting of the people inside growing ever stronger. Finally there was a great moan and a crack as if the whole of creation had split open – then everything went black._

_I wish I could describe what that moment was like. It lasted only an instant, but it seemed to go on forever. It was agonizing, like we had been turned inside out yet somehow stayed alive. When the world returned, we all knew something horrible had happened. The Black Wings assembled us outside City hall and told us they were a cult dedicated to bringing back the Black Mage. They had been working toward this for a long time and they had finally succeeded._

_The Black Mage had returned._

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><p>"Two weeks, two weeks... "Aran wrecked his brain, trying to put the pieces together, "That was a weeks after they used Evan to get Ludibrium seal stone!" He grabbed his polearm and ran straight to the harbot, the letters was crumbled in his hand and tossed on the ground.<p>

Bahamut picked the crumbled piece of paper up and read the last part of the letter, where Aran left...

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><p><em>My friend, I can feel you recoiling from this knowledge even now. Alas, it is true. Edelstein's shame has been compounded twice over. The birthplace of the Black Mage is the site of his rebirth. The Black Wings seized complete control of the town, oppressing our people, and forcing them to continue to put up a falsely cheerful front until their master is ready to unleash his vengeance upon the world.<em>

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><p>This time however, Edelstein will not allow such an evil to go unchecked. Those with the power, the Battle Mages and the Wild Hunters will take up arms and use our powers to fight the Black Wings. We who bear the shame of unleashing him upon the world once will not allow it to happen again. We will save Edelstein and we will save Maple World. Help us if you can, my friend, for our plight – and that of the world – has never been more dire.<p>

"Master... " Eleanor bowed down, holding the long, purple staff with a black skull at the end in front of the man sitting on the throne. He reached out, his claw-like hand gently held it, as if it was something precious. The skull's eyes start glowing in a dark purple color before the man raised it high above his head, an overwhelm energy was released from the staff and struck through the night clouds, before it exploded throughout the entire the sky of Maple world...

_**Big bang...**_

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><p><strong>AN: This is the end of the first part of Maple Saga. I'm working on the sequel and I'll posted it soon. The title will be "Maple Saga: Big Bang"**

**Read and review, thank you.**

_Reviews answering time:_

**NekomimiToree****: I'm kind of disappointed that Evan has her own set of skills. I felt that the whole point with Evan is that she can't live without Mir and Mir can't live without Evan. Giving Evan skills beyond the skill book had ruined/weakened their partnership, in my opinion.**

And it always bother me at how evil dark mages just have to be a mad tyrant archtype. What happened to affably evil? Or the chessmaster?

_Answer: I've aware of that, but I found it illogical that Evan has no skill at all. She would be an easy prey if Mir wasn't there so I gave her some of the skills. And their partnership will be strengthen in the sequel._

_About Black mage being archtype, I can't help it. When he was young, he used dark magic and it made him so crazy, so yeah. I really can't help it._

**Thank you everybody who stick to the end of this story. I'll see you soon with the sequel.**

**-ThanhnuFia-**

**P/s: I've created a poll. Check my profile and vote for your favorite character in my fanfic.  
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